History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Socata TB10 Tobago registered G-BSDL, was being flown from Retford/Gamston Airport to Fenland Airfield for scheduled maintenance on 7 November 2013. The flight was uneventful until the pilot contacted Fenland when approximately 5 miles northwest of the airfield. He was given the QFE and advised that runway 26R was in use. The pilot carried out pre-descent checks, including switching on the fuel pump and selecting carburettor heat. After levelling out at circuit height, he deselected carburettor heat and turned from crosswind to downwind, where he performed downwind checks and selected 10° of flap.
Engine Failure and Forced Landing
As the aircraft passed abeam the runway threshold, the engine stopped suddenly. A scan of the instruments and controls did not reveal any abnormalities, and pushing the throttle and propeller levers fully forward had no effect. The pilot immediately turned left base and radioed that he had an engine failure and was going "straight in." He raised the nose to just below the stall warning speed and lined up on the runway, but realised he still had flap selected and retracted them, noting a noticeable reduction in drag. However, it became clear he would not reach the runway, and he touched down in a ploughed field some 500 m short of the threshold.
Aftermath and Damage
Although the pilot attempted to keep the nosewheel off the ground as long as possible, the field was ploughed at right angles to the direction of travel. After about 30 m of ground roll, the nosewheel touched down and immediately collapsed. The engine detached as the aircraft came to an abrupt halt. The pilot was uninjured but extremely dazed by the deceleration, taking some time to gather his thoughts and exit the aircraft. He was met by a rescue crew from the airfield. The maintenance company advised that a visual examination of the engine did not reveal any obvious reason for the failure.