Jabiru J430 Accident at Bethlehem Aerodrome (ZU-SGG)

Accident Overview and Flight History On the morning of 30 July 2008, a Jabiru J430, registration ZU-SGG, operated by GSG Trust, departed Harrismith Aerodrome for Bethlehem Aerodrome. The pilot, a 34-year-old South African with a private pilot licence, was accompanied by a passenger who was also a pilot. After an uneventful arrival, the passenger conducted a 54-minute flight test with a flight instructor. The aircraft was then refuelled with 57 litres of 100 LL Avgas for the return flight to Harrismith. During the take-off attempt on Runway 29, the aircraft suddenly lost lift on rotation. The pilot aborted the take-off, but maximum braking was ineffective in stopping the aircraft on the 1,175-metre runway. To avoid the perimeter fence, the pilot induced a left turn, causing the aircraft to depart the runway and strike a windrow located approximately 4 metres from the runway edge. The impact caused the aircraft to nose over and come to rest inverted. The windrow was a result of maintenance work on runway light cabling, for which a NOTAM had been issued but was lifted the day before the accident. Both occupants were taken to a local hospital; the passenger suffered torn ligaments in the chest, while the pilot was uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including a cracked and delaminated vertical fin, shattered cockpit windows, bent nose landing gear and left wing strut, and a damaged propeller. The investigation noted that the aircraft's maximum allowable take-off mass was exceeded by 15 kg (2%) and the forward centre of gravity envelope was exceeded at take-off. The probable cause was determined to be the collision with the windrow and subsequent nose-over following the aborted take-off and departure from the runway surface.