Aircraft and Flight Details
The aircraft involved was a De Havilland DH82A Tiger Moth, registration G-AMCK, powered by one De Havilland Gipsy Major 1C engine. It was manufactured in 1941. The flight was a training operation at Leicester Airport, Leicestershire. The pilot in command held a Commercial Pilot's Licence, was 56 years old, and had accumulated 1,300 flying hours, of which 40 hours were on type. In the last 90 days he had flown 111 hours, and in the last 28 days 28 hours. There were two crew on board and no passengers.
Incident Narrative
At 0830 UTC on 26 July 2001, the pilot was conducting a training flight using Runway 10 at Leicester Airport. The runway surface was dry, and there was no significant weather. The surface wind was reported as 130°/07 kt. The aircraft was equipped with a tail wheel and conventional brakes on the main wheels, operated by the pilot's heels.
After landing, the aircraft was turned left to backtrack the active runway. During this turn, which was made at a slow walking pace, the aircraft overshot the runway centre line slightly. The pilot applied full left rudder and some power with the intention of regaining the centre line. In the process of applying rudder, the edge of the instructor's shoe caught the heel brake, which snatched on; the aircraft tipped forward onto its nose. The report notes that this rotation was possibly assisted by the light tailwind.
Damage and Injuries
The aircraft sustained damage to the propeller. The pilot and his student vacated the aircraft without assistance, and no injuries were reported.