History of the Flight
The pilot of N565G, a Socata TB 20 Trinidad GT, was flying from Blackpool Airport to Caernarfon Airport. Runway 20, with a landing distance available of 1,031 m, was in use and its asphalt surface was dry. The pilot reported that the surface wind was 190° at 25 kt and gusty while making a normal approach to Runway 20. He was flying approximately 10 kt faster than the normal approach speed of 80 kt due to the gusty conditions. As he approached the normal touchdown point at about 10 ft above ground level, the aircraft’s nose suddenly dropped by about 10° to 15°. Simultaneously, he noticed a significant drop in indicated airspeed. He immediately applied a burst of power and pulled the control column back to arrest the attitude change and increased rate of descent. These actions had some effect, but the aircraft then bounced on its nose wheel before landing on its main landing gear. Initially, the pilot did not think the aircraft was damaged. However, after shutting down and vacating the aircraft, he discovered that 5 cm of each propeller tip had been bent, likely from striking the runway during the nose wheel contact.
Meteorological Conditions
An aftercast obtained from the Meteorological Office indicated that the synoptic situation featured a fresh south-westerly flow covering Wales. Visibility was expected to be 20 km with a few scattered cumulus clouds at 2,500 to 3,000 ft. The mean sea-level surface wind over the area was expected to be from 200° at 25 to 27 kt, gusting to 35 kt. With this surface wind direction, Caernarfon lies slightly in the lee of high ground, potentially causing variable wind direction and speed due to funneling through valleys and around hills to the south-south-west of the airfield. The wind could have been more southerly at times with larger speed variations, making low-level turbulence likely. Given the wind strength and proximity of high ground, turbulence was expected to be moderate but could have been severe at times. The pilot’s reported surface wind was 190° at 25 kt and gusty.
Aircraft Damage
An assessment of the damage by the repair agency found that the propeller was damaged beyond economical repair. The engine was examined for shock-loading damage.
Eyewitness Report
An eyewitness to the landing of the incident aircraft and other aircraft stated that he had noticed many of them “drop dramatically” on the final approach, albeit from a greater height than the accident aircraft. He added that he thought the pilot of N565G could not have done anything else in the circumstances.