What happened
On 12 September 1998, a Socata TB20, registration G-BRIN, was involved in a ground accident at Guernsey Airport in the Channel Islands. The aircraft, operated for a private flight, was taxiing through the West Grass Parking Area when it encountered a buried sewage drain that had collapsed. The failure of the drain caused the nose of the aircraft to drop suddenly. This movement resulted in the propeller making contact with the ground, which subsequently caused the engine to stop.
There were three people on board the aircraft, including the pilot and two passengers; notably, there were no injuries reported following the incident.
The investigation
The investigation was based on the aircraft accident report submitted by the pilot. The examination focused on the ground conditions at the West Grass Parking Area and the mechanical impact of the propeller strike. The investigation established that the physical movement of the aircraft was a direct result of the underlying infrastructure failure.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was the collapse of a buried sewage drain beneath the taxiing path.
- The impact of the propeller against the ground resulted in substantial damage to the propeller.
- The sudden stop of the propeller likely caused potential shock loading to the Lycoming IO-540-C4D5D engine.