Loss of control involving a Jabiru, 24-7491, at Broome Airport, Western Australia, on 3 October 2014

On 3 October 2014, at about 0900 Western Standard Time, a Jabiru J230 aircraft, registered 24-7491, departed Cape Leveque for Broome, Western Australia, with a pilot and one passenger on board. When at about 5 NM from Broome Airport, an air traffic controller cleared the aircraft to join a right circuit for runway 28. The pilot reported that the approach and landing were normal and the aircraft touched down on runway 28 just beyond the threshold.

During the landing roll, the pilot was focused on looking for the correct taxiway to exit the runway for the itinerant parking bay. The aircraft was decelerating normally and the pilot did not apply brakes due to the length of runway remaining. The pilot detected the right wing rising slightly, possibly due to a crosswind. He then looked straight ahead and realised that the aircraft had veered off the runway centreline to the left. He applied right rudder in an attempt to return to the centre of the runway, but the aircraft continued towards the edge of the runway and taxiway A. He sighted a grass area and a drainage ditch ahead just off the runway which he wanted to avoid, along with a Fokker 100 aircraft that was stationary on taxiway A at the holding point for runway 28. The pilot elected to apply full left rudder to turn the aircraft around and remain on the sealed area.

The Jabiru aircraft’s propeller and right wingtip struck the ground and the aircraft came to rest upright and facing in the opposite direction to the landing and about 20 m from the Fokker 100. The pilot and passenger were uninjured.

Aviaiton Short Investigations Bulletin - Issue 37