What happened
On 29 August 2024, a private flight operating under Part 94 regulations ended in an accident at Stellenbosch Airfield (FASH) in the Western Cape. The flight, involving a pilot and one passenger, departed from the airfield with an intended route through Paarl and Franschhoek before returning to the same location.
During the approach for landing on Runway 19, the Aeroprakt aircraft, registration ZU-MAP, was traveling at an airspeed of 60 knots with flaps set at 10 degrees. Upon touchdown, the aircraft's main landing gear made contact, but the plane subsequently ballooned. This maneuver caused the nose wheel to dig into the mud, leading to its collapse. The aircraft then nosed over and came to rest on its left side. While the occupants escaped without injury, the aircraft suffered substantial damage to its wings, tail section, and nose wheel.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the aircraft's airworthiness and the pilot's credentials. The investigation confirmed that the pilot held a valid Private Pilot Licence and a current Class 2 medical certificate. The aircraft, ZU-MAP, possessed a valid Authority-to-fly and had received a Certificate of Release to Service in August 2024, with no defects noted in the flight records at the time of the incident. Weather conditions at the time of the flight were reported as visual meteorological conditions with good visibility.
Findings
The investigation determined that the primary cause of the accident was the aircraft ballooning during the landing phase. This was likely triggered by excessive nose-up elevator control inputs during the round-out, which caused the aircraft to lift off the runway again after the initial touchdown, ultimately leading to the nose wheel failure and subsequent overturn.