What happened
On 6 April 2013, a Skyranger 582, registration G-CGMK, was conducting a private flight at Sackville Farm Airfield in Bedfordshire. The airfield's grass runway had been subject to heavy rain and snow over the preceding three months, leaving the ground in a soft condition. Despite this, the pilot had inspected the runway the previous day and deemed it suitable for microlight operations, noting that other aircraft had successfully used the strip recently.
During the final approach, the pilot encountered a rising thermal, which required the execution of a slipped approach to manage the descent. In an effort to mitigate the risks posed by the soft surface, the pilot attempted to 'hold off' the aircraft to achieve the lowest possible airspeed before touchdown. However, as the pilot released pressure on the controls during the landing phase, the aircraft decelerated abruptly. This sudden deceleration caused the nose landing gear to dig into the soft ground and subsequently fold underneath the airframe, resulting in the aircraft pitching nose-down and inverting.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. Investigators examined the condition of the airfield and the aircraft's flight path. It was noted that while the pilot was aware of the soft ground, the aircraft's interaction with the surface during the landing roll led to the structural failure of the gear. There were no injuries to the pilot following the incident, though the aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and the nose landing gear.