What happened
On 18 July 2008, a Rans S6-ES Coyote II, registration G-BYOT, departed Sutton Meadows airfield for a local flight. The pilot, who had recently completed six hours of familiarisation training on this aircraft type, initially climbed to 2,000 ft. While navigating toward Willingham, the aircraft encountered heavy rain and a lowering cloud base. Because the aircraft's radio was unserviceable, the pilot was forced to rely solely on visual navigation using a map, compass, and stopwatch.
As visibility decreased, the pilot became disorientated and lost his position, eventually performing a successful precautionary landing in a field near Swaffham, Norfolk. After establishing his position, the pilot attempted to return to Sutton Meadows. However, after approximately 40 minutes of flight, he became lost a second time, leading to another precautionary landing in a field near Eriswell, Norfolk.
Following this second landing, the pilot planned a route toward Newmarket Heath airfield. During this third attempt, the aircraft encountered further deteriorating weather and the pilot realized that fuel levels had dropped to approximately 6 litres. While attempting a third precautionary landing in a field, the nose landing gear collapsed. This caused the propeller to strike the ground before the aircraft came to a halt. There were no injuries to the pilot, and no fire occurred.
The investigation
The investigation examined the pilot's navigation methods, the aircraft's equipment, and the meteorological conditions. It was established that the pilot was flying in a region of moderate precipitation that significantly reduced visibility. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's recent training history and the lack of navigational aids available to him during the flight.