What happened
On 10 July 2004, a Cozy aircraft, registration G-BXDO, was conducting a private flight from Kemble towards Shobdon Airfield. During the flight, an inspection hatch for the retractable nose wheel system detached from the upper surface of the nose. This component was ingested by the rear-mounted pusher propeller, causing significant damage to the blades.
The resulting vibrations from the damaged propeller forced the pilot to gradually reduce engine power. As the engine power was lowered, the aircraft lost altitude over approximately three minutes, leading to an emergency landing. The pilot attempted to land at a microlight field located approximately one mile south of Junction 12 of the M5 motorway in Gloucestershire. Due to the difficulty in identifying a specific runway, the pilot landed parallel to the field's length.
Upon touchdown, the nose wheel sank into soft ground, causing the landing gear to collapse. The aircraft yawed and overturned, landing on its back. The impact resulted in severe damage to the right wing, the right canard, and the left wingtip fin, as well as minor damage to the nose from a previous landing.
The investigation
The AAIB examined the sequence of events following the aircraft's arrival at the field. The investigation established that the pilot was unable to exit the cockpit immediately after the aircraft overturned because the upward-hinging canopy could not be opened from the inside while the aircraft was inverted. The pilot remained in the cockpit, monitoring for signs of fire, until bystanders arrived to right the aircraft.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine power reduction was the separation of the nose wheel inspection hatch, which subsequently struck the propeller.
- The aircraft's configuration and canopy design hindered the pilot's ability to evacuate the aircraft rapidly following the inversion.
- The pilot's decision to land in a direction aligned with the field length was necessitated by the inability to discern a specific runway during the forced landing.
Safety action
Following this incident, the AAIB issued Safety Recommendation 2004-107 to the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The recommendation requested a review of the design requirements for exits and safety equipment within the Certification Specifications for Very Light Aeroplanes (CS-VLA) to ensure occupants can escape rapidly from any crash attitude, including aircraft turnover.