What happened
On 18 April 2007, a Piper PA-38-112 Tomahawk, registration G-RVRG, was engaged in a training flight at Manchester (Barton) Airport. The flight was an introductory circuit lesson, during which the student pilot was operating the controls under the supervision of a flying instructor.
During the third touch-and-go maneuver on Runway 27R, the aircraft touched down at a speed of 65 kt. While the initial contact was described as soft, the aircraft subsequently struck a divot on the runway surface. This impact caused the aircraft to become airborne again in a nose-high attitude. In an attempt to arrest the descent rate, the pilot moved the control column forward and applied power.
Upon the second touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed. The pilot attempted to maintain the aircraft on the runway and abandoned the takeoff, but the aircraft drifted left across the runway. The flight ended in a ground loop, leaving the aircraft facing the opposite direction from its original heading. There were no injuries to the two crew members.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical failure of the landing gear and the condition of the runway surface. Maintenance records indicated that the maintenance organization had performed heavy landing checks following the incident and found no additional damage to the airframe.
While the airfield guide noted that the runway surface at Barton was undulating in places, the operations manager stated that daily inspections had not identified any specific holes or divots in the area of the touchdown. The investigation identified that the left main landing gear securing bolt (part number 401 511) had failed.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the failure of the left main landing gear securing bolt.
- The aircraft struck a divot on the runway, which contributed to the subsequent loss of control and second touchdown.
- Following the incident, the maintenance organization implemented a new inspection program to replace this specific bolt on all of their PA-38 fleet during every annual inspection.