What happened
On 23 January 1999, a Yak-50, registration G-BWJT, was conducting a private flight from Nottingham to Breighton Airfield in North Yorkshire. The weather conditions during the flight were good. Upon arriving at the airfield, the pilot attempted to establish radio communication but received no response from the ground. Consequently, the pilot proceeded with the approach by transmitting position and intention details via blind transmission.
As the aircraft flew the base leg for the grass runway 29, the pilot evaluated whether to land on the grass or the parallel hard runway, which serves as a taxiway, due to concerns that recent rainfall might have rendered the grass surface unsuitable. After observing no standing water on the grass, the pilot decided to proceed with the landing on the grass runway. During this period of decision-making, the landing gear was not lowered.
The investigation
The investigation established that the aircraft touched down with the landing gear in the retracted position. Because the design of the Yak-50 prevents the main wheels from retracting fully into the wheel wells, the airframe itself escaped significant damage. However, the impact resulted in substantial damage to the propeller and caused the engine to be shock loaded.
Findings
- The pilot was distracted by the decision regarding which runway to utilize for the landing.
- The landing gear was not extended prior to touchdown.