What happened
On 17 May 1998, a Piper PA-34-200T, registration G-BRHJ, was conducting a private pleasure flight from Kemble Airfield with one pilot and four passengers. The weather conditions at the time of the incident were excellent, with high visibility and light winds.
Shortly after departing from Runway 09, the aircraft's baggage door, situated on the left side of the nose, opened at an altitude of approximately 100 feet. In response to this, the pilot decided to perform a tear-drop turn to land on Runway 27. During this maneuver, the pilot shut down the left engine after reaching an altitude of 400 feet. At this point, the aircraft was positioned roughly 30 degrees off the runway heading and maintaining a high ground speed.
As the pilot attempted the approach, the airspeed began to decay. At an altitude of between 20 and 50 feet, the stall warning horn activated. The pilot responded by applying full right rudder and increasing power on the remaining right engine. However, the rudder input was excessive, causing the aircraft to touch down heavily while still yawing to the right. This resulted in the collapse of the undercarriage, and the aircraft slid across the runway before coming to rest on the grass. There were no injuries to the five people on board, though the aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators examined the sequence of events following the opening of the baggage door and the subsequent decision to shut down an engine during the turn back to the airfield. The investigation focused on the aircraft's flight path, the pilot's control inputs during the low-altitude stall warning, and the mechanical failure of the undercarriage upon touchdown.