What happened
On 30 August 1999, a Grumman AA-5A, registration G-NASH, was involved in a landing accident at Sandown Airport, Isle of Wight. The flight was being conducted as a private training session, marking the student pilot's second solo flight of the day.
During the approach to the grass runway 23, conditions were noted as dry with a surface wind of 230°/6 kt. Upon touchdown, the aircraft experienced a bounce. In an attempt to improve visibility of the runway, the pilot lowered the aircraft's nose. However, the pilot did not correct the aircraft's attitude, leading to a heavy impact on the nose landing gear. The sudden deceleration caused the aircraft to come to a rapid halt on the runway.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The examination established that the aircraft sustained damage to the nose landing gear, the underside of the propeller cowling, and the forward fuselage, while the cockpit floor was buckled. The pilot, who was wearing appropriate lap and diagonal upper torso restraints, was able to exit the aircraft without injury.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure to adjust the aircraft's attitude following a landing bounce.
- The pilot's decision to lower the nose to improve runway visibility contributed to the heavy impact on the nose gear.