Accident Overview
The accident occurred on June 24, 2009, at 1420 UTC at Henlow Airfield in Bedfordshire. The aircraft involved was a DH82A Tiger Moth, registration G-APAP, manufactured in 1940. It was powered by a single De Havilland Gipsy Major I piston engine. The flight was a training sortie, with two crew on board and no passengers. No injuries were sustained by the crew.
Sequence of Events
The aircraft was undertaking a renewal flight for the student’s lapsed Simple Single-Engine Aircraft (SSEA) National Private Pilot’s Licence (NPPL) rating. The examiner was seated in the front seat. The surface wind was from approximately 090° at less than 10 kt, and Runway 09 was in use.
Normally, aircraft taxiing from the parking area to Runway 09 use a taxiway that runs along the left side of Runway 31. However, a large model aircraft and a car were parked on that taxiway, forcing the student to taxi along Runway 31 instead. The taxi was uneventful until they approached the parked car. At that point, the aircraft veered to the right and departed the runway.
The examiner saw a hay bale, which he thought would be hit by the left wing, and took control of the aircraft, steering it to the right. He then observed a second hay bale, which was not an immediate threat. After clearing the first bale, he steered left to reposition the aircraft back onto the runway. During this maneuver, the aircraft struck a third hay bale that had been obscured from his view by the right wing.
Damage
The right lower wing was damaged as a result of the impact with the third hay bale.
Pilot Information
The commander (the examiner) held a Commercial Pilot’s Licence and was 62 years old. His total flying experience was 6,300 hours, of which 1,010 hours were on the Tiger Moth type. In the last 90 days, he had flown 48 hours, and in the last 28 days, 28 hours.
Examination of Contributing Factors
The examiner and student believe that the accident occurred because they had been distracted by the car and model aircraft parked on the taxiway. This distraction led to the aircraft veering off the runway and subsequently striking the hay bales.