History of the Flight
On 5 April 2007 at 1235 hours, a Piper PA-28-235, registration G-BAMM, operated on a private flight to Sandown Airport, Isle of Wight. The pilot, aged 50 and holding a Private Pilot’s Licence with 363 total flying hours (233 on type), was conducting a normal circuit for Runway 23. The approach was flown at an indicated airspeed of 90 mph with two stages of flap and the engine set at 1,700 rpm. There was no appreciable crosswind. The pilot selected the carburettor air control to COLD and full flap at a height of 300 ft, and the descent continued normally.
As the aircraft crossed the threshold at 80 mph, the pilot closed the throttle. The main landing gear contacted the ground at about 75 mph, approximately 5 mph above his target touchdown speed of 70 mph. Upon touchdown, the pilot became aware of a slight bounce, which he attributed to being slightly fast and a slight bump in the runway surface. He considered that ample runway remained to stop.
However, when the pilot lowered the nosewheel onto the runway, the aircraft pitched forward until its nose contacted the grass. The aircraft then slid gently along the runway centreline to a halt. After checking that his passenger was not injured and switching off the magnetos and battery, the pilot and passenger vacated the aircraft unaided.
Witness Observations and Damage
The pilot stated that he held the nosewheel off during the bounce and that there had been no indication that it had contacted the ground until the aircraft pitched down. He expressed the opinion that the landing had not been heavy and was unable to explain why the gear collapsed. However, witnesses saw the aircraft bounce several times, with the gear collapsing upon touchdown from the final bounce. One witness described this last bounce as “the steepest”.
The engineer who recovered the aircraft reported that the nose leg oleo had failed in bending due to overload. The damage included the nose gear oleo destroyed, a bent propeller, and damage to the nosewheel and engine. The assessment showed the failure resulted from an overload with no evidence of a pre-existing defect.