What happened
On 2 February 2013, a Rockwell Commander 112, registration G-BDLT, was performing its third flight of the day at Lee-on-Solent Aerodrome in Hampshire. The weather conditions were clear, with a northerly wind recorded at 18 knots.
As the pilot was completing the second landing of the day on Runway 05, the aircraft began to veer toward the left side of the runway during the landing roll. The pilot attempted to correct the direction using the rudder pedals; however, the aircraft drifted off the paved surface. Upon encountering the soft ground at the edge of the runway, the nose landing gear dug into the earth, resulting in its collapse. The impact caused damage to the engine mounting, the propeller, and the nose landing gear.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report form provided by the pilot. The inquiry focused on the sequence of events during the landing roll and the physical forces that led to the gear failure.