What happened
On 18 October 1998, a Europa aircraft, registration G-DAMY, was conducting a private training flight when it experienced an incident during landing at Dishforth, North Yorkshire. Following what initially appeared to be a standard landing sequence, the aircraft began to bounce on the runway. This instability resulted in the pilot losing directional control of the aircraft.
As the aircraft entered a ground loop, the propeller and the left wingtip made contact with the ground. The incident resulted in no injuries to the pilot or the passenger on board, though the aircraft sustained minor damage to the propeller and the left wingtip.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report form provided by the pilot. Investigators examined the sequence of the landing and the subsequent loss of control. The pilot, who held a private pilot's licence and had 4,000 total flying hours, was unable to identify the specific reason why the initial bounce occurred.