What happened
On 31 May 2002, a Europa aircraft, registration G-BWUP, was performing a turn to line up for takeoff at Shenington airfield, near Banbury. During this maneuver, the tail wheel assembly collapsed. The pilot immediately halted the aircraft and shut down the engine to prevent further damage. The incident resulted in minor damage to the rudder and the rear section of the fuselage.
The investigation
Investigators examined the tail wheel installation and discovered that the bolt securing the spring rod had pulled through its attachment point at the base of the rear fuselage. This failure allowed the tail wheel assembly to rotate 9/0 degrees from its intended position.
The aircraft featured a modified landing gear configuration, utilizing a two-wheel main gear instead of the standard mono-wheel setup. The tail wheel was attached to a hard point constructed from layers of plywood and bi-directional glass-fibre cloth, topped with a bonded steel plate. The investigation established that lateral forces caused the spring rod to rotate around the aircraft's longitudinal axis. This motion bent the attachment bolt and crushed the underlying plywood and glass-fibre composite structure.
Records from the Popular Flying Association (PFA) showed no previous incidents involving G-BWUP that would have compromised the tail wheel assembly. While the manufacturer had previously considered reinforcing the area, they had opted against it to avoid potential undetected fuselage damage during high-load events like ground loops.
Findings
- The tail wheel collapse was caused by the spring rod bolt pulling through the fuselage hard point.
- Lateral forces during the turn caused the bolt to bend and the composite/wood structure to crush.
- The aircraft was using a modified two-wheel main landing gear configuration, which may increase susceptibility to damage during rapid turns if the wheel encounters obstructions or ruts.
- Although some owners had implemented a PFA-approved modification using alloy plates for better lateral support, this modification had not been performed on this specific aircraft.