Fatigue failure Slippery when wet


BEECH 58 BARON HAYDOCK PARK AIRFIELD


NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS 8 SEPTEMBER 2018


Before leaving Thruxton aerodrome, the pilot spoke to the Clerk of the Course at Haydock Park Racecourse (Newton- Le-Willows Airfield) to understand the condition of the runway. The Clerk stated that the Head Groundsman had walked the course several times that morning and, in his opinion, the ground was wet but “firm enough for aircraft to land”. A Piper Saratoga and a Eurocopter AS355


Écureuil 2 Helicopter had both landed that day with no incident and were parked, as instructed, at the far western end of the airfield. When the Baron pilot arrived at Haydock he overflew the airfield to confirm visually the wind conditions from the windsock. He noted that it was raining but felt confident there was sufficient runway, providing the touchdown was at the threshold. Aware that the runway length was just enough in the wet conditions, he felt that the touchdown needed to be firm at the threshold. The touchdown went as planned but the wet conditions affected braking over the last third of the runway. Recognising that there was insufficient


Drifting off PIPER PA-28-181


CHEROKEE ARCHER II CARDIFF AIRPORT 4 DECEMBER 2018


34 CLUED UP SUMMER 2019


runway remaining to come to a stop and that he had passed the point of a successful go-around he decided to stop by deliberately ground-looping. The manoeuvre went as intended, except that the initial move was too wide and, while steering to the left, the aft fuselage and left flap hit the right wing of the parked Saratoga damaging it extensively. The Beech continued with the manoeuvre and came to rest as intended with damage limited to the aft fuselage skin panel and several fuselage frames. No-one was hurt. Both the parked aircraft and helicopter


were clear of the runway and would not have impeded a normal landing, but the pilot later commented that, in his opinion, “it is inadvisable to park aircraft in an area where overshooting the runway is a possibility. Any obstructions in this area should be minimised to reduce the possibility of damage and injury to personnel”.


The manoeuvre would have been


successful had contact not been made with the parked aircraft. The CAA has published document CAP 793: ‘Safe Operating Practices at Unlicensed Aerodromes’ which includes recommended safety factors to be applied when pilots are calculating landing distances on wet grass runways.


CZAW SPORTCRUISER Nr CLACTON-ON-SEA, ESSEX 18 AUGUST 2018


The Sportcruiser took off from Clacton and the pilot reported leaving the circuit to the west, changing frequency to Southend Radar. While making his initial call to Southend Radar there was a “loud clank” from the engine which lost power. The pilot continued to fly while the instructor took over the radio and advised Southend they would be landing in a field. The instructor monitored the


pilot, reminding him of the wind and pointing out a field. However, it became apparent the pilot had selected a different field, the instructor pointed out that the field was rough and suggested another, but as the pilot was fully engaged with the landing he judged it would be safely made and decided not to interfere further. The landing was into wind with


full flap at an estimated touchdown speed of around 30kt (20kt groundspeed). The Sportcruiser decelerated rapidly and, as it slid to a halt, the nosewheel snapped off. Neither was injured. A later engine examination found that the flywheel had detached due to fatigue failure of at least one of its mounting bolts.


While landing at Cardiff Airport, the Archer drifted left off the paved surface onto the grass, damaging the nose landing gear. The weather was good with the wind variable at 3kt. The pilot taxied the aircraft back onto the runway, but when he attempted to vacate on the taxiway, he couldn’t turn left. He shut down and the airport fire service manually handled it to the apron. The pilot reported that, as he closed the throttle and flared, the aircraft drifted left. He tried to correct the drift with rudder, but it had departed the runway before he managed to straighten it.


PHOTOS BY KEITH WILSON/SFB PHOTOGRAPHIC - File images for illustrative purposes only


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