Aircraft and Pilot Information
A Cessna 182T Skylane, registration G-OLDX, was involved in an accident on 11 September 2002 at 1400 UTC. The aircraft was manufactured in 2001 and powered by a single Lycoming IO-540-AB1A5 piston engine. The pilot, aged 66, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had accumulated 1,630 flying hours, of which 70 were on type. In the 90 days prior to the accident, he had flown 34 hours, with 3 hours in the last 28 days.
Accident Details
The pilot was attempting to land diagonally across a grass football training ground in a roughly westerly direction. The field was located about 600 feet above mean sea level and was surrounded on its north and west sides by an earth bank approximately 20 feet high. According to the pilot's report, he landed about 5 knots fast, just beyond his aiming point. He had selected the landing direction based on forecast winds for nearby Birmingham Airport, but there was no windsock at the field. In retrospect, he considered that a tailwind existed rather than the expected headwind.
After touchdown, the pilot thought about carrying out a go-around but decided that sufficient distance was available to complete the landing successfully. However, the grass was damp, and as he applied the brakes, the aircraft skidded. He was unable to prevent the aircraft from striking the earth bank at the western end of the field at a speed of about 10 to 15 knots.
Aftermath
The pilot turned off the fuel and electrics and vacated the aircraft through the normal exit. He suffered minor injuries. The aircraft sustained damage to the nose leg, fuselage, and propeller.