Incident Overview
On 15 March 2009 at 1700 hours, a Yakovlev Yak-52 aircraft, registration G-CBRU, was involved in an incident at Enstone Airfield, Oxfordshire. The aircraft was on a private flight with one pilot and one passenger onboard. Neither occupant was injured.
Aircraft and Pilot Details
The aircraft was a single-engine Yak-52, powered by an Ivchenko Vedeneyev M-14P piston engine. It was manufactured in 1988. The pilot, aged 50, held a Private Pilot's Licence and had a total flying experience of 317 hours, including 59 hours on the Yak-52. In the 90 days prior to the incident, he had flown 1 hour, with the same amount in the last 28 days.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot's report, he rejoined the circuit at Enstone after a local flight. Due to the number of aircraft in the circuit, he performed two go-arounds on his first two landing attempts. On the final approach, during the downwind leg, the pilot intended to lower the landing gear but inadvertently retracted it. He attributed this to a loss of concentration resulting from the two previous go-arounds and the high volume of radio traffic from other aircraft.
After noticing the flaps were still deployed, the pilot retracted them. He then completed a normal approach. The subsequent landing was described as "a little bouncy," and as the aircraft de-rotated, the propeller struck the ground.
Damage
The incident resulted in damage to the propeller and flaps. The pilot and passenger were uninjured.