What happened
On 2 March 2013, a Flight Design CT2K, registration G-CBEX, was conducting a private flight from a base near Newark-on-Trent to a grass airstrip near Heckington, Lincolnshire. The weather conditions were favorable, characterized by fine visibility and a light wind from the north or north-west.
Upon approaching the east-west oriented strip, the pilot performed a right-hand turn to land towards the west. Following the landing, the aircraft experienced a bounce that briefly made it airborne again. During the subsequent touchdown, the pilot applied the brakes, which resulted in a skid. The aircraft then veered off the runway, eventually striking a dyke with the left main wheel and hitting a tree with the left wing. The aircraft completed a full 360-degree rotation before coming to a halt. There were no injuries to the pilot, though the aircraft sustained damage to the propeller, fuselage, landing gear, and left wing.
The investigation
The investigation established that the pilot was unfamiliar with the specific characteristics of the landing strip. Specifically, the pilot was unaware that the final 100 meters of the runway featured a downward slope. The investigation also noted that the pilot had a limited amount of recent experience on this type of aircraft, with only 8 hours flown in the preceding 90 days.
Findings
- The pilot's decision to continue the landing attempt rather than performing a go-around after the initial bounce contributed to the excursion.
- The pilot's lack of awareness regarding the downward slope at the end of the runway led to insufficient runway remaining to safely abort the landing once the skid began.