What happened
On 5 November 2005, a Europa (Tri-gear), registration G-BWZA, was conducting a private flight from Full Sutton Airfield in Yorkshire to Netherthorpe Airfield in Nottinghamshire. Upon arriving in the vicinity of Netherthorpe, the pilot contacted the airfield and received weather information indicating a surface wind of 210 degrees at 15 to 20 knots, noting that conditions were blustery. Visibility was good, though cloud base was reported at 1,800 ft.
The pilot executed an overhead join and proceeded to approach Runway 24, which is a grass runway characterized by an upslope and a wet surface. The available landing distance was approximately 370 meters. The approach was performed using full flaps at a speed of 60 knots. Following a normal flare, the aircraft touched down; however, after a ground roll of roughly 30 to 40 meters, the aircraft lifted back into the air, drifted to the right, and subsequently dropped heavily onto the ground. The impact caused damage to the propeller, the nosewheel, and the main landing gear. There were no injuries to the pilot or the passenger.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report form provided by the pilot. Investigators examined the flight conditions and the aircraft's behavior during the landing phase. The pilot suggested that irregularities on the runway surface might have contributed to the aircraft becoming airborne again after the initial touchdown. While the specific flight test stall speeds for this aircraft were not documented, a typical stall speed for this model with full flaps is approximately 44 knots.