What happened
On 16 August 2008, a Rockwell Commander 112TC, registration G-ERIC, was performing a series of touch-and-go landings at Cranfield Airport in Bedfordshire. Following a stable approach with a light left crosswind, the pilot touched down for the fourth attempt. During the transition to a touch-and-go, the pilot raised the flaps and applied power. This action caused the aircraft to swing toward the left.
Despite the pilot immediately reducing throttle and applying right rudder, the aircraft continued to veer off the paved surface. The aircraft crossed a drainage ditch, an event that caused the nose landing gear to detach. As the aircraft continued, the propeller struck the ground, leading to engine shockloading and propeller damage. The pilot was able to vacate the aircraft without difficulty, and no injuries were reported.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's recent maintenance history and the pilot's recent flying experience. The aircraft had recently undergone significant repairs following a previous wheels-up landing, which included the installation of a new 3-bladed propeller to replace the original 2-bladed unit.
While the pilot had noted some instability during roll-out in previous flights, he had attributed this to a lack of recent experience on this specific type. The investigation also looked into a previous runway excursion involving the same aircraft. It was discovered that a prior incident, which the pilot had attributed to a nose oleo failure, was actually caused by the deflation of the oleo strut due to a missing blanking plug.
Findings
- The aircraft veered left during the application of power and flap retraction.
- The loss of the nose landing gear occurred when the aircraft crossed a drainage ditch.
- The aircraft swung to the left due to asymmetric propeller wash over the fin and rudder caused by the new 3-blended propeller.