What happened
On 23 August 2013, a Cessna 182P Skylane, registration G-EEZS, was conducting a private flight from Popham to Rochester Airport. The pilot arrived at the airfield experiencing significant stress due to visibility conditions that were worse than expected.
Upon arrival, the pilot was assigned Runway 02. Due to the stress of the flight, the pilot initially misidentified the runway as Runway 20. While attempting to join the circuit, the pilot noted the traffic was busy. During the final approach, the pilot realized the aircraft was too high over the runway threshold and performed a dive to reach the runway. During this maneuver, the pilot was distracted by a radio transmission requesting his position, which led to an unmonitored increase in airspeed.
As the aircraft approached the runway, the pilot became fixated on completing the landing. The aircraft experienced several bounces on the runway surface, which ultimately caused the nose landing gear to collapse and detach. The aircraft sustained damage to the propeller, exhaust, and lower cowling. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators examined the sequence of events leading to the landing, focusing on the pilot's mental state and the flight path. The inquiry established that the pilot's decision-making was compromised by environmental factors and distractions. The pilot provided a transparent account, acknowledging that stress and a lack of consideration for a go-around maneuver contributed to the incident.