Incident Summary
On 13 December 1998 at 1010 UTC, a Piper PA-28-180 (registration G-OIBO) was involved in an incident at Wellesbourne Mountford Airport, Warwickshire. The private flight had one pilot on board and no passengers. The pilot, aged 48, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had accumulated 188 hours of flying experience, with 180 hours on type. He had flown 4 hours in the last 90 days and 2 hours in the last 28 days.
Before taxiing, the pilot conducted an external inspection of the aircraft. When he began to taxi, the aircraft was reluctant to move, prompting the pilot to check that the parking brake was fully released. Once the aircraft moved, it pulled to the left, and the pilot corrected with right rudder; the issue then ceased. Shortly after, air traffic control (ATC) instructed the pilot to stop because a rope was attached to the aircraft's left wing. The pilot stopped, removed the rope, and inspected the aircraft for damage. No damage was found, but it became clear that the aircraft had started to taxi with the left tie-down weight still attached. The tie-down weight was located a short distance from the parking position and removed from the taxiway.
The pilot resumed taxiing, but upon hearing a dull 'clunk', he decided to abandon the planned flight and returned to the parking area for a further inspection. Examination revealed that the bolts securing the left main landing gear were loose.
Damage and Cause
The incident resulted in substantial damage to the left main landing gear attachments. The pilot determined that the cause of the incident was his failure to remove the left tie-down weight despite conducting what he thought was a thorough external check.