What happened
On the evening of 12 December 1999, a Siai Marchetti S.205 22/R, registration G-VELA, was conducting a solo night flight at Gamston (Retford) in Nottinghamshire. The pilot, who was working toward a night rating, had previously completed five successful night landings under instructor supervision before proceeding with solo practice circuits.
During the sixth landing attempt, the aircraft experienced a bounce upon touchdown. Following a second contact with the runway, the nose landing gear began to collapse. This structural failure caused the propeller to strike the tarmac. The aircraft subsequently skidded along Runway 03, coming to a stop approximately 200 yards before the first available exit. There were no injuries to the pilot, though the aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and nose landing gear.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the accident report submitted by the pilot. At the time of the incident, weather conditions were reported as fine and clear with no wind. The runway was fully illuminated with threshold, edge, and APAPI lights set to a 3.5° glidepath. The investigation established that the pilot had limited experience on this specific type, with 54 hours of the 128 total flight hours being on the Siai Marchetti S.205 22/R.