What happened
On 23 March 2006, a Europa aircraft, registration G-BVOS, was performing a private flight at Sandtoft Airfield near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire. During the landing phase, the pilot initiated the flare at an excessive height. This resulted in an aerodynamic stall, causing the aircraft to strike the runway with significant force. The impact led to the collapse of the right landing gear leg. As the aircraft continued along the runway, the right wingtip and flap mechanism scraped the ground until the aircraft came to a complete stop. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation established that the aircraft had recently undergone a significant modification. The owners had converted the aircraft from a mono-wheel main landing gear configuration to a tail-dragger setup, a process that took approximately one year. Due to the period of inactivity during this conversion, the pilot and the other owner had participated in a PFA coaching scheme in January 2006 to regain flying proficiency. The pilot reported that the primary cause of the heavy landing was an error in judging the timing of the flare.
Findings
- The pilot commenced the landing flare too early.
- The aircraft experienced a stall due to the premature flare.
- The pilot's lack of recent flying currency contributed to the error.