What happened
On 1 September 2018, a Cessna Textron 182M, registration ZS-IAM, was conducting a private flight at the Leshiba Wilderness aerodrome in the Limpopo Province. After an initial successful landing and a brief rest period, the pilot and a passenger departed the aerodrome to perform a single circuit.
During the final approach for the subsequent landing, the aircraft drifted left of the runway centerline. The left wing struck trees located alongside the runway, causing the wingtip to break off. A second impact with another tree damaged the wing's leading edge and sheared the left aileron. The force of these impacts caused the aircraft to rotate 90 degrees to the left, eventually striking a tree with the nose cowling before coming to a stop. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and both occupants sustained serious injuries.
The investigation
SACAA AIID examined the pilot's credentials and the aircraft's maintenance history. The pilot was a German national operating under a foreign pilot license validation based on an FAA commercial certificate. Investigators noted that while South African regulations typically require differences training when moving between similar aircraft classes (such as from a C172 to a C182), the pilot's FAA-based validation did not mandate such training.
The investigation confirmed the Cessna Textron 182M had a valid certificate of airworthiness and a recent certificate of release to service. Meteorological conditions at the time were clear with visual flight rules in effect. The runway at Leshiba Wilderness, consisting of grass and sand, featured a substantial upward gradient for the landing direction.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain the runway centerline during the final approach.
- The aircraft drifted left without corrective action being taken, leading to the collision with vegetation.
- The impact with the trees resulted in a loss of control and subsequent rotation of the aircraft.