What happened
On 3 June 2005, a Rans S6-ES, registration G-CBTO, was conducting a private flight along the Lake District coastline, heading north towards St Bees Head. While cruising at approximately 1,300 feet amsl, the pilot initiated a turn inland and began a climb to navigate around the Sellafield restricted zone and rising terrain.
During this maneuver, the pilot noted that the terrain ahead was ascending at a gradient steeper than the aircraft's climb capability. While focused on avoiding the restricted airspace, the aircraft entered a cloud layer. Upon emerging from the cloud, the pilot found the aircraft at a low altitude with no clear path to avoid further cloud cover. Consequently, the pilot decided to perform an emergency landing in a nearby grass field. The aircraft was flying at a speed near its stall limit during the approach. During the landing roll on the uneven terrain, the right wing tip made contact with the ground and the nosewheel became detached. There were no injuries to the two occupants.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The examination focused on the flight path, the pilot's attempts to navigate around the restricted zone, and the environmental conditions involving the cloud layers and terrain height.