Sinking into
trouble with flaps CESSNA F150L RAF HENLOW, BEDFORDSHIRE 14 NOVEMBER 2017
When trees are the only option
IKARUS C42 NR CASTLEWELLAN 29 MAY 2017
A pilot who had gained his NPPL a month before was planning a flight with a passenger around the Mourne Mountains, but the cloudbase was about 1,100 to 1,200ft above the Kernan microlight strip near Tandragee, Co Armagh, and an instructor advised him to stay in ‘the local area’. The pilot headed south towards Newry and said the cloudbase was just above
1,000ft approaching Warren Point, which is almost at sea-level, and he continued on to fly around the south of the mountains. As he flew back, however, the ground rose and cloud lowered, reducing visibility and he decided to land in a field. He knew the C42 could be landed in a short distance and was prepared to trailer the aircraft back if the field was too small for take-off. He couldn’t, however, spot a field and instead landed in trees on the top of a hill. The C42 was badly damaged, but he and his passenger were unhurt. The accident happened about 1.5 nm north-west of Castlewellan where the terrain
rises to 750ft and the pilot said he was caught out due to inexperience by the rising terrain and lowering cloud. When the instructor had advised him to stay in the local area he thought this included Newry, 13nm south of Kernan. He didn’t think he was doing anything risky by going beyond this distance because when he reached Newry the cloudbase was still above 1,000ft. Another instructor at Kernan was asked how they would interpret the term ‘local
area’ and they said about 4 to 5 nm from the airfield. The instructor who advised the pilot before the flight probably wanted him to stay within a few miles of the airfield due to the low cloudbase. However, the pilot thought it was safe to fly further as long as the cloudbase
remained above 1,000ft and he hadn’t realised that he was heading towards terrain as high as 750ft.
When landing with flaps set to 30º a high rate of descent developed and, despite the instructor intervening, the F150 hit the ground nose-down. The nose leg detached, the propeller was damaged and the aircraft bounced and landed heavily on its main wheels before stopping on its nose. In previous training the student had only landed with the flaps set to 20º and had not appreciated the effects of selecting idle power with the flaps set to 30º. The instructor resolved to give future students more landing practice with the flaps set to 30º before trying to teach them short-field techniques.
Engine riddle PIPER PA-28-140 CHEROKEE NEAR PARBOLD, LANCASHIRE 28 AUGUST 2017
The Cherokee carried out two practice engine failures after leaving Liverpool for a training flight, then, at approximately 2,300ft while climbing at maximum engine rpm, the power suddenly reduced. The instructor took control and set a glide attitude; the fuel pump was already on and the mixture rich, so the other fuel tank was selected and the carburettor heat set to hot, but the engine rpm didn’t recover. After touchdown in a field the instructor spotted a low fence and ‘hopped’ the Cherokee over it before stopping close to a second one. Unidentified debris was later found in the carburettor, but the examining engineer was unsure whether it was enough to have caused the engine failure.
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