Incident Details
On 31 January 1998 at 1740 UTC, a Piper PA-34-220T, registration G-HMJB, was landing on concrete Runway 03 (landing distance available 650 metres) at Lincoln (Wickenby) Airport, Lincolnshire. The pilot, the sole occupant, reported that the aircraft crossed the threshold at 80 knots. Before the flare was initiated, the aircraft struck the runway firmly, nosewheel first. It bounced twice before coming to rest to the left of the centreline.
Pilot and Aircraft Information
The aircraft, manufactured in 1981, was powered by two Continental TSIO-360-KB piston engines. The pilot held a Private Pilot's Licence and was 56 years old at the time. His total flying experience was 711 hours, of which 317 were on type. In the previous 90 days he had flown 42 hours, and in the previous 28 days, 24 hours.
Narrative
The pilot made an approach to land on Runway 03. He reported being visual with the lights at approximately four miles on finals. The runway had no visual approach slope indicators, so the pilot used his GPS to determine range to touch down during descent. Weather was fine with good visibility, broken cloud at 4,000 feet, and a surface wind of 320° at 2 knots.
The pilot stated that on his previous flight he had carried out an ILS approach at Bristol and flared too high. Conscious that the runway at Wickenby was short, he was determined to land on the threshold. As a result, he judged his height above touchdown by looking at the runway surface close to the side of the aircraft, rather than looking towards the far end of the runway.
Damage
The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the nose landing gear, both propellers, the underside of the forward fuselage, and the left wing. No injuries were reported.