Incident Overview
On 7 August 2003, a privately operated Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, registration G-AVLD, was involved in a landing accident at Clacton Airfield, Essex. The aircraft, manufactured in 1967, was powered by a single Lycoming O-320-E2A piston engine. The flight originated from Chichester (Goodwood) Airfield and carried one pilot and one passenger. No injuries were reported.
Sequence of Events
Towards the end of the flight, the pilot contacted Clacton Radio for a briefing before joining the circuit. The controller advised landing on Runway 18 and to land before a public footpath that crossed the runway; if unable to land by that point, a go-around was required. Weather conditions were good, with visibility of 20 km and a light southerly surface wind. Runway 18 at Clacton is a grass surface with a landing distance of 502 metres, and the footpath crosses less than halfway along.
The pilot executed a somewhat steep approach. The aircraft touched down close to the footpath and bounced several times. On the final landing, the nose gear detached, and the aircraft came to rest. After securing the aircraft, the pilot and passenger vacated.
Post-Accident Observations
Following the accident, the pilot noted that the surface wind varied through about 200° and was informed that such variation was typical for the time of day. The pilot considered the accident resulted from a poor approach into a small airfield. He stated that more thought should have been given to determining a touchdown point well before the footpath, which would have led to a more disciplined approach. An early decision to go-around might have recovered the situation.
Damage
The nose gear detached, the propeller was damaged, and the engine experienced shock loading.