Accident Sequence
A private flight from Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man was preparing to land at Fairoaks Airport. On board were the pilot (aircraft commander) and a passenger occupying the front right seat. As the aircraft neared Fairoaks, the pilot listened to the Farnborough ATIS broadcast, which reported visibility of 4,000 meters in mist. The pilot and passenger discussed the visibility and agreed to proceed to Fairoaks while retaining the option to divert to Farnborough Airport if a landing was not possible.
The visibility at Fairoaks was recorded as 4,500 meters, with few clouds at 4,000 feet and a surface wind of 3 knots from 240 degrees. Runway 24 was in use with a left-hand circuit; the circuit height based on the Fairoaks QNH was 1,100 feet (airport elevation 80 feet amsl). Runway 24 is a hard runway, 813 meters long and 27 meters wide.
The pilot identified the airfield visually, although low-lying mist was present. He joined the circuit and flew a downwind leg closer to the runway than usual to maintain visual contact with the landing area. He performed pre-landing checks while downwind, including lowering the landing gear and extending the flaps to the takeoff position. He planned a final approach with flaps at the landing setting, an initial approach speed of 90 knots, and a final approach speed of 80 knots.
The pilot recalled the aircraft being slightly low as it turned from the downwind leg onto final approach. He believed he had selected flaps to the landing position and saw the airspeed just below 90 knots, prompting him to increase power slightly. The aircraft flew through the extended runway centerline, and the pilot increased the bank angle to regain it. The pilot's next recollection was of being in a right bank and seeing only sky ahead. He pushed forward on the control column and attempted to correct the bank with aileron. The aircraft then rolled quickly in the opposite direction, and he again applied a correction. He became aware of a wings-level attitude and saw the ground approaching rapidly. He pulled back hard on the control column but was unable to prevent the aircraft from striking the ground. He did not recall hearing a stall warning or any other audio warning before the loss of control.
The aircraft struck flat ground and slid for approximately 85 meters before coming to rest against a treeline, about 500 meters from Runway 24 and approximately on the extended centerline. The propeller was destroyed, the landing gear legs detached, and damage to the wings included a ruptured fuel tank. In the latter stages of the slide, the aircraft yawed right, coming to rest heading approximately in the direction from which it had come.
The pilot and passenger remained conscious but both suffered injury. The passenger saw flames from the engine area and warned the pilot that they needed to evacuate. The passenger went to the rear of the cabin, opened the main door, and left the aircraft. The pilot initially attempted to open his side door but could not due to an injured right arm, so he followed the passenger out the rear door.
Investigation Findings
Radar data confirmed that the aircraft commenced its final turn from a position closer to the runway than usual, requiring a sustained moderate angle of bank through approximately 180 degrees of turn. The turn onto the final approach was initially flown with less angle of bank than required. The pilot either lost visual contact with the runway or did not fully appreciate the turn requirements. The low height on the downwind leg combined with relatively poor visibility may have produced a runway visual aspect that gave a false impression of normal spacing. As the finals turn progressed, the need to increase the angle of bank to a relatively high value, with flaps remaining at the takeoff setting and maintaining level flight, placed the aircraft close to its stalling speed.
Probable Cause
The available evidence indicates that the aircraft stalled during the turn onto the final approach. Recovery actions taken by the occupants appear to have been partially successful, but there was evidently insufficient height in which to effect a full recovery.