History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Piper PA-22-160 Tri-Pacer registered G-ARDT, departed Oban on a private flight to its base at Northside, a private airstrip near Aberdeen. The pilot, who held a Private Pilot's Licence and had 675 hours total flying experience (176 on type), was familiar with both the aircraft and the destination.
The weather was fine with good visibility and a northerly breeze. The strip was oriented north/south, 425 m long, with short mown grass. Telegraph lines at the southern end required takeoffs to the north and landings to the south. The center and southern portions of the strip sloped upward towards the south at approximately 25° to the horizontal. A copse just north of the strip necessitated an S-turn on final approach.
Approaching Northside, the pilot contacted Aberdeen ATC and was advised of surface wind 350°/12 kt, meaning a tailwind landing. The pilot believed the shelter from the copse and the uphill slope would allow a safe landing, but decided to go around and divert to another strip if not satisfied.
The aircraft was established on approach with full flap at an indicated airspeed of 65 mph (56 kt). GPS showed a tailwind component of about 8 kt. At about 50 ft above aerodrome level, the pilot became unhappy with the aircraft's position and decided to go around.
He applied full power and established a climb at 70 mph. Reaching down to reduce the flap setting from full to half, he instead completely retracted the flaps. The aircraft immediately began to sink, tracking over rising ground toward a windsock. Although the pilot began a turn to avoid the windsock, the aircraft touched down and bounced violently before touching down again. The right wing struck the windsock, and the left wing struck and demolished the door support structure of a poly tunnel adjacent to the strip. The aircraft ran over a dry stone wall and came to rest.
Aircraft Design
The aircraft was fitted with wing flaps selected by a mechanical lever similar to a car handbrake. A sprung button in the lever end released a ratchet to allow flap selection from full to half or from half to up. There was no baulk to prevent retraction directly from full to up.
Aftermath
The pilot and one passenger vacated the aircraft with minor injuries. The rear-seat passenger, who was wearing a four-point harness, sustained a serious back injury and was assisted from the aircraft. A petrol leak occurred into the cockpit, but no fire developed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage including destruction of the left wing, damage to the right wing and landing gear, and engine shock-loading. It was damaged beyond economic repair.