Aircraft and Flight Details
A Piper PA-28-180, registration G-BBKX, was involved in an accident on 22 June 1999 at Thruxton Airfield, Hampshire. The aircraft, manufactured in 1973, was powered by one Lycoming O-360-A4A piston engine. The flight was a private solo qualifying cross-country flight from Farnborough to Thruxton.
The pilot, aged 28, held a student pilot licence and had accumulated 65 hours of flying experience, all on type. In the previous 90 days, the pilot had flown 6 hours, with 5 hours in the last 28 days.
Accident Sequence
The weather at the time of the accident was fine with good visibility and calm winds. Upon arrival at Thruxton, the pilot conducted a visual circuit to land on Runway 25. The aircraft touched down on the main landing gear just beyond the threshold and bounced. The pilot applied power to cushion the subsequent touchdown, but the aircraft bounced a second time. During the second bounce, the nose landing gear collapsed. The aircraft veered to the left of the runway and came to rest on the adjacent grass.
Injuries and Damage
The pilot, who was wearing a lap and diagonal seat belt, vacated the aircraft without injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the nose landing gear and propeller.
Pilot Assessment
The pilot assessed the cause of the accident as being due to a higher than normal rate of descent on touchdown.