What happened
On 16 February 2008, a Scheibe SF25E Superfalke, registration G-FHAS, was involved in an incident at Burn Airfield, North Yorkshire, during a training flight. Following the fourth training session of the day, the commander performed a landing that was longer than usual to ensure sufficient distance from a glider winch operation.
After touchdown, the pilot applied power to execute a left turn to facilitate backtracking. During this manoeuvre, the pilot attempted to move the aircraft to the right to create enough space for the turn. While attempting to use the brakes via the spoiler control, the pilot felt the main wheel strike a small pothole. The pilot initially believed the right outrigger had snagged an object, leading to a ground loop to the right. The engine was shut down once the aircraft came to a halt at the edge of the runway, positioned at a 90-degree angle to the landing direction.
The investigation
An investigation into the event revealed that the aircraft's right wing had made contact with a small bush located on the right side of the runway. The damage was identified as affecting the trailing edge and the leading edge ‘D’ box of the right wing. The incident was documented via the aircraft accident report form submitted by the pilot.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced a ground loop to the right during taxiing.
- The right wing struck a small bush on the edge of the runway.
- The pilot's attempt to manoeuvre the aircraft to the right contributed to the contact with the vegetation.