What happened
On 22 June 2001, a Piper J3CO-65, registration G-BDEY, was engaged in type conversion training at Fenland Airfield near Spalding, Lincolnshire. Following a training session lasting approximately two and a half hours, the instructor and the aircraft owner intended to perform two additional circuits from the grass runway before returning to Empingham.
While taxiing towards the threshold of Runway 36, the aircraft moved onto the runway runoff area. Due to the pilot's short stature, which required the use of seat cushions to reach the rudder pedals, the instructor's forward visibility was significantly restricted. To compensate for this obscured view, the instructor was weaving the aircraft's nose from side to side during ground manoeuvres. During this process, the aircraft struck a metal frame belonging to a Low Intensity Two Colour Approach Slope System (LITAS) installation.
Although the propeller remained undamaged, the impact caused a partial crack in the left landing gear tension bar. The crew decided to taxi the aircraft back to the airfield parking area for a detailed inspection. However, during this subsequent movement, the tension bar failed completely, causing the left landing gear to collapse. There were no injuries to the two crew members on board.
The investigation
The investigation established that the LITAS installation, which had been partially removed following a prior incident, was marked by an amber traffic cone. The investigators found that the recent repositioning of runway marker boards, requested by CAA officials, had left the remaining metal structure more exposed within the taxiing path of the runway runoff area. The instructor noted that the landing gear should have been secured before attempting to taxi the aircraft back to the club facilities.
Findings
- The primary cause of the initial impact was the collision with a metal framework located in the runway runoff area.
- The instructor's forward visibility was limited by the seating arrangement required for the pilot to operate the controls.
- The repositioning of runway markers had increased the exposure of the LITAS installation to taxiing aircraft.
- The subsequent gear collapse was caused by the failure of a previously cracked tension bar during taxiing.
Safety action
Following this incident and previous similar occurrences, the airfield operator is relocating the LITAS installation to the edge of the runway runoff area to prevent future collisions.