What happened
On 13 February 2018, a private recreational flight involving an Airplane Factory, Sling 2, registration ZU-IFA, resulted in an aircraft incident at Morningstar Airfield. The pilot, a private pilot license holder with approximately 349 hours of total flight time, departed the airfield for a short flight lasting roughly 40 minutes.
During the return approach, while the aircraft was in the flare stage near the runway surface, it experienced a sudden loss of altitude and dropped onto the tarmac. The impact caused the aircraft to bounce. In an effort to maintain the aircraft on the runway due to low forward speed, the pilot lowered the nose. This maneuver caused the nose gear to strike the runway with significant force, bending the assembly backward and resulting in the propeller blades striking the runway surface.
The investigation
SACAA AIID investigators examined the sequence of events leading to the impact. The investigation confirmed that the aircraft sustained substantial damage to the nose gear, the nose gear mounting assembly, and the propeller blades. The pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, escaped the incident without injury.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was a sudden loss of height during the landing flare.
- The pilot's subsequent handling technique—specifically the decision to lower the nose to prevent the aircraft from bouncing or drifting off the runway—directly contributed to the structural damage of the nose gear.