Accident
On 12 July 2006 at 1800 hours, a Piper PA-28-181 Archer II (registration G-BNVE, powered by a Lycoming O-360-A4M piston engine) struck a gate while taxiing at MCA Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. The aircraft was on a private flight from Guernsey and had just landed on Runway 23. The pilot, aged 70 with 528 total flying hours (351 on type), was accompanied by two passengers. No injuries were reported. The accident resulted in impact damage to the left wing and fuselage.
History of the Flight
The pilot had previously flown from MCA Daedalus and hired the aircraft from a club based at the airfield for a private flight to Guernsey. After returning, the pilot landed on Runway 23 and vacated to the right onto the perimeter taxiway. He taxied northward, searching for a grass taxiway he knew existed but could not locate. Continuing on the perimeter taxiway, the pilot approached an open set of metal gates positioned at an angle across the taxiway. As he attempted to taxi through the gateway, the left wing struck the gate to the left, slewing the aircraft. The pilot stopped the aircraft and shut down the engine before disembarking with his passengers.
Airfield Details
MCA Daedalus is an unlicensed airfield primarily used by the Coastguard Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter and the Hampshire Police Air Support Unit (PASU), with additional civilian flying training organisations, a gliding club, maintenance organisations, and private aircraft. The airfield is normally restricted to based aircraft and those visiting for maintenance.
Construction work on an adjacent industrial estate required the erection of a perimeter fence with gateways for aircraft and vehicle access. One gateway was 12 metres wide, intended for aircraft crossing from the industrial estate to the airfield. A mown grass taxiway was created to bypass a gateway on the eastern side near the Coastguard hangar, but its entrance was not clearly marked. The airfield manual, amended in April 2006, stated that the gate was only 12 metres wide and that it was the pilot's responsibility to ensure safe negotiation. The manual did not include a diagram showing the fence, gates, or grass taxiway.
Analysis
Information about the gate's position and width was available to the pilot, including a photograph in the briefing area of the hiring organisation. The pilot was aware of the grass taxiway but likely failed to find it due to the lack of obvious markings at its entrance, which may have been disguised by wide mowing near the Coastguard hangar. After missing the taxiway, the pilot continued toward the gate but misjudged the aircraft's position relative to the gateway, partly due to the gate's staggered alignment. The aircraft's wingspan of 11.05 metres was only 0.95 metres narrower than the gateway, leaving little margin for error. Damage suggested the aircraft was not slowed to a speed appropriate for the manoeuvre.
The airfield manager reported that the same gate had been hit twice previously by another pilot while passing in the opposite direction, scraping the wing tip. As a result of these events, the airfield manual was further amended to prohibit aircraft from using the gateway.
Safety Action
The AAIB issued Safety Recommendation 2007-035, urging the Maritime Coastguard Agency to require the airfield operator to apply appropriate markings to the grass taxiway near the Coastguard hangar and, upon completion of fence construction, publish an up-to-date plan of the airfield showing the perimeter fence, gateways, and grass taxiways.