What happened
On 13 January 2023, a private flight involving a Jabiru J400, registration ZU-ISK, resulted in an aircraft excursion at Rhino Park Airfield in Gauteng. The flight, conducted under visual meteorological conditions, began with a takeoff from Runway 09 for a sightseeing mission in the general flying area. After approximately one hour of flight, the pilot returned to the airfield to land on the same runway.
Upon touchdown, the pilot reported that the aircraft was traveling at approximately 80 knots, which significantly exceeds the 65-knot landing speed specified in the manufacturer's manual. As the nose wheel made contact with the runway, the aircraft began to veer toward the left. Despite the pilot's attempts to correct the direction using right rudder, the aircraft could not be steered straight. The impact caused the nose gear oleo to bend, subsequently forcing the propeller and the outboard leading edge of the right wing to strike the ground. The incident resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft, though there were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the mechanical and operational aspects of the occurrence. The investigation confirmed that the aircraft was airworthy and had been inspected recently, with only 4.2 hours flown since its last service. While the pilot reported a loss of steering control, a subsequent inspection of the rudder, steering control system, and main wheel brakes by the recovery maintenance organization found no mechanical faults.
Findings
- The primary cause of the excursion was an unstable approach characterized by excessive speed.
- The aircraft landed with high kinetic energy, resulting in a hard touchdown on the nose wheel.
- The force of the hard landing caused the nose gear oleo to bend, which prevented effective steering and led to the aircraft veering off the runway.