History of the Flight
On 9 December 2005, at approximately 1430 UTC, a Europa aircraft (registration G-SYCO) was landing on Runway 18 at Draycott Farm near Swindon, Wiltshire. The runway was a grass strip 700 meters in length. The weather was fine with good visibility and light winds, but the runway surface was damp.
The pilot, who held a National Private Pilot’s Licence and had 846 total flying hours (33 on type), reported that a curved approach was required due to farm buildings in the approach area. Full flap was selected and the approach was normal. However, the aircraft bounced on landing. As it touched down again, the right landing gear leg failed just above the wheel axle.
The damaged leg then dug into the runway surface, causing the aircraft to ground loop. It came to a stop with a fracture in the rear fuselage and damage to the right landing gear leg. The pilot and the sole passenger reported no injuries.
The pilot opined that the first part of the landing roll was uphill and that this, together with the handling characteristics of the type and the rough grass surface, could have contributed to the accident.