What happened
On 15 December 2003, a Grumman AA-5 Traveller, registration G-BLFW, was conducting a private flight when it experienced a landing accident at Draycott Farm, near Swindon. The aircraft was operating on a dry but soft grass runway. As the pilot approached the threshold, the engine was throttled back, but the aircraft continued to float along the strip.
The aircraft eventually made contact with the ground at a point where the runway surface rose due to a hump in the terrain. This initial contact triggered a bounce. While the first bounce was not considered excessive, a subsequent second contact resulted in a much more severe bounce. The aircraft then landed heavily on the runway. During the ensuing ground roll, the nose landing gear failed, causing the aircraft to come to rest on its nose cowling. There were no injuries to the pilot or the single passenger on board.
The investigation
The investigation examined the runway conditions and the sequence of the landing maneuver. It was noted that the grass strip featured two humps, with the first located significantly beyond the standard touchdown point. The investigation established that the aircraft's touchdown occurred on this rising ground. The pilot noted that the ground was soft, which likely contributed to the structural failure of the gear. The investigation also considered the pilot's flight parameters, noting that a touchdown closer to the threshold at a lower airspeed might have prevented the sequence of bounces.