Accident Overview
On 9 July 2007 at 1210 UTC, an EV-97 Teameurostar UK microlight aircraft, registration G-CDVU and powered by one Rotax 912-UL piston engine, experienced a landing accident at Broadmeadow Farm, Hayward, Hereford. The aircraft, manufactured in 2006, was being operated on a private flight with one pilot and one passenger on board. Both occupants were uninjured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The pilot, aged 51, held a National Private Pilot’s Licence and had accumulated 94 hours of flying experience, all on the accident type. In the previous 90 days he had flown 14 hours, with only 1 hour in the last 28 days.
History of the Flight
The aircraft returned to Broadmeadow Airfield after a short local flight and entered the left-hand circuit pattern for Runway 28. During the downwind leg, the pilot selected two stages of flap and reduced speed. On the base leg, he estimated the speed to be approximately 65 mph. The subsequent turn onto finals was described by the pilot as tighter than normal. During this turn on short finals, the aircraft developed a high rate of descent, accompanied by a loss of height and airspeed. The pilot reported that the situation could not be corrected in time to recover and reach the landing strip, nor could a go-around be executed.
The aircraft’s wheels contacted the tops of the corn in a field approximately 25 metres short of the runway threshold. The aircraft then decelerated through the standing corn and over uneven ground before coming to rest upright, roughly 3 metres from the runway threshold. The pilot and passenger vacated the aircraft normally.
Cause
The pilot stated that the accident was caused by insufficient airspeed on finals. It is likely that the tight turn onto finals exacerbated this situation.