Investigation number
AO-2016-049
Occurrence date
Location
near Noosa
State
Queensland
Report release date
Report status
Final
Investigation level
Short
Investigation type
Occurrence Investigation
Investigation status
Completed
Aviation occurrence category
Loss of control
Occurrence class
Accident
Highest injury level
Minor

What happened

On 16 May 2016, the pilot of a Maule MT-7-235 aircraft, registered VH-DRS, conducted a private flight from Greenfields airstrip (near Noosa), Queensland, with two passengers on board.

The aircraft departed Greenfields airstrip at about 1220 Eastern Standard Time (EST) and flew to Gympie ALA, where the aircraft was refuelled. The aircraft then departed from Gympie and flew north towards Maryborough before returning to Greenfields along a coastal route.

The aircraft joined the circuit at Greenfields on the downwind leg for runway 09. The pilot turned on to the final approach at about 800 ft above ground level, with an airspeed of about 70 kt. The pilot noticed they were getting low on the approach and at about 500 ft, they increased the power to regain their approach path. The pilot subsequently assessed that the aircraft was too high and lowered the nose to re-intercept the approach path.

The pilot flared the aircraft for landing, the aircraft landed heavily and bounced into the air. As the aircraft landed again, the nose wheel touched down first (before the main landing gear) with sufficient force that the nose wheel strut fractured. The nose landing gear and propeller then dug into the ground and the aircraft rotated over its nose and slid a short distance inverted before coming to rest.

The pilot and one passenger were uninjured, the other passenger sustained minor injuries, and the aircraft sustained substantial damage (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Accident site showing damage to VH-DRS

Figure 1: Accident site showing damage to VH-DRS

Source: Aircraft owner

Pilot comments

The pilot provided the following comments:

  • they taxied the full length of the strip before departure from Greenfields and noted the grass surface was in good condition
  • they had flown about five flights, totalling about 20 hours in the last 12 months
  • the pilot’s previous flight was about 4 to 5 weeks prior to the accident flight
  • the pilot had not operated the Maule aircraft with more than one passenger on board prior to the accident flight
  • the pilot thought that the higher all-up-weight of the aircraft with an extra passenger on board contributed to a higher sink rate on final than they expected
  • the pilot commented that they should have performed a go-around, rather than continuing with the landing manoeuvre.

ATSB comment

Currency versus proficiency

At the time of the accident the pilot was current for passenger-carrying operations, having conducted at least three take-offs and three landings in the last 90 days. However, it was more than one month since their last flight, which was also a local area scenic flight. The take-off and landing phases of flight are critical phases of flight, since the aircraft is operating closer to the stall speed and with less height to recover from a control problem, relative to cruise flight. The requirement for three take-offs and three landings in the last 90 days is a regulatory requirement of currency, but this does not guarantee proficiency. When flying infrequently, proficiency in take-offs and landings can be improved by dedicating a portion of the flight to practicing circuits. The United States Federal Aviation Administration safety briefing September/October 2010 described this as ‘imbuing the quantity of all your flying, however limited, with quality.’

Safety message

Go-around

The pilot commented that conducting a go-around could have prevented an unstable approach and initial bounce from escalating to an accident. General aviation pilots should set their own criteria for when to conduct a go-around manoeuvre, so that they can recognise and respond to the conditions in a timely manner. This will assist pilots to develop a mindset, which the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) refers to as ‘go-around-prepared’. FSF Approach-and-landing Accident Reduction (ALAR) briefing note 6.1 emphasises the need to be ‘go-around-prepared’ or ‘go-around-minded’ because the execution of a go-around is an infrequent manoeuvre. FSF ALAR briefing note 7.1 provides further information on unstable approaches and how to develop personal lines of defence.

Aviation Short Investigations Bulletin - Issue 50

Purpose of safety investigations

The objective of a safety investigation is to enhance transport safety. This is done through:

  • identifying safety issues and facilitating safety action to address those issues
  • providing information about occurrences and their associated safety factors to facilitate learning within the transport industry.

It is not a function of the ATSB to apportion blame or provide a means for determining liability. At the same time, an investigation report must include factual material of sufficient weight to support the analysis and findings. At all times the ATSB endeavours to balance the use of material that could imply adverse comment with the need to properly explain what happened, and why, in a fair and unbiased manner. The ATSB does not investigate for the purpose of taking administrative, regulatory or criminal action.

Terminology

An explanation of terminology used in ATSB investigation reports is available here. This includes terms such as occurrence, contributing factor, other factor that increased risk, and safety issue.

Publishing information 

Released in accordance with section 25 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003

Published by: Australian Transport Safety Bureau

© Commonwealth of Australia 2016

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Aircraft Details
Manufacturer
Maule Aircraft Corp
Model
MT-7-235
Registration
VH-DRS
Serial number
18091C
Operation type
Private
Sector
Piston
Destination
Greenfield, Qld
Damage
Substantial