What happened
On 6 October 2007, a Piper PA-32-300, registration N2989M, arrived at Newmarket Racecourse following a private flight from Middleham. Upon touchdown on the grass runway, the pilot immediately retracted the flaps to prevent the aircraft from floating and to facilitate earlier braking. Shortly after landing, the aircraft encountered an undulation in the runway surface, causing it to become airborne once more. The pilot applied power to mitigate the descent rate, but the aircraft subsequently made a firm touchdown.
At the time of the landing, the aircraft was carrying approximately 70 US gallons of fuel. Following the flight, the aircraft returned to Middleham without any immediate concerns raised by the pilot, who did not believe the landing was excessively hard or in need of further inspection.
The investigation
During a routine 50-hour maintenance inspection on 8 October, technicians discovered buckling on the right wing leading edge and the lower wing skins outboard of the landing gear. Upon removing the wing skins, investigators found that a significant downward force had been applied to the outer wings, resulting in compressive buckling and cracking of the lower spar webs outboard of the main landing gear. The damage was severe enough that both wings were removed for repair.
Findings
- The pilot utilized a short-field landing technique involving immediate flap retraction. While intended to reduce lift and promote braking, this technique also reduces aerodynamic drag, which likely prevented the aircraft from decelerating sufficiently before the bounce.
- The aircraft's weight distribution played a critical role; the outboard fuel tanks were still largely full, meaning the mass of the fuel exerted a significant downward bending moment on the wing structure outboard of the main gear.
- The structural integrity of the wings was compromised by the impact, as the damaged state of the aircraft meant it could no longer safely carry design flight loads.