History of the Flight
The pilot, the sole occupant, was practicing circuits at City Airport Manchester (Barton) on 15 June 2008. The wind was recorded as 270–300° at 7–12 kt. After 38 minutes of circuits and five landings, the aircraft touched down on Runway 27 but bounced into the air. The pilot applied power to soften the next landing, but a second bounce occurred, and airspeed began to deteriorate. The aircraft started to drift to the left.
The pilot applied full power to go around, adopting a nose-up attitude to climb away, but the drift continued toward the aircraft parking area. The pilot was reluctant to correct the drift because the airspeed was only some 5 mph above stall speed and the climb rate was poor. Because he was watching the airspeed indicator and the aircraft’s nose was high, the pilot did not see that he was heading toward trees at the edge of the airfield car park.
Impact and Damage
The aircraft struck trees, then spun to the ground from about 30–40 feet, causing slight damage to two cars in the car park. The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair. The pilot evacuated unaided with minor injuries.
Pilot's Assessment
In a frank assessment, the pilot stated he was “behind the aeroplane.” He believed he should have reacted to the bounced landings by applying more power and should have corrected the drift. He admitted that when the aircraft was on the verge of stalling, he was only thinking about keeping the wings level and hoping to build airspeed.