Accident
On 16 June 2005, a student pilot flying solo in a Tecnam P92-S Echo (registration ZU-MIF) was conducting circuit and landing exercises at Light Flight Aerodrome, Cato Ridge. During the take-off roll for a solo circuit, the aircraft began to veer left. The pilot, suspecting a strong crosswind, applied right rudder but could not correct the drift. The aircraft neared rising ground approximately half a meter higher than the runway surface to the left. The pilot rotated in an attempt to clear the terrain, but the left wing struck the rising ground, causing the aircraft to ground loop counterclockwise. The aircraft came to rest on its right side. The left main landing gear was found separated on the runway. The student pilot sustained no injuries. Damage to the aircraft included the fuselage, propeller, undercarriage, right wing, front cowlings, engine mount, and left horizontal stabilizer.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft, a Tecnam P92-S Echo, was first registered in January 2004 and held a valid Authority to Fly issued on 15 February 2005. The last annual inspection was certified on 14 February 2005 at 319.7 airframe hours. The aircraft had flown 70.9 hours since that inspection. The Approved Person (AP) who certified the inspection held a valid MISASA Approved Person Approval No. 121. The flying school operated under Aviation Training Organisation Accreditation and Approval Certificate CAA/0083, issued on 25 October 2004 and valid until 30 August 2005. The Civil Aviation Authority last audited the training organisation on 19 October 2004.
Investigation
The instructor, who also served as the AP that certified the aircraft prior to the accident, noted that the bolt attaching the left main landing gear assembly to the fuselage had sheared, allowing the gear to depart during the take-off roll. The securing bolt was not recovered, preventing metallurgical analysis to determine the failure cause.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of the accident is undetermined.