Thursday, July 10, 2014

Pitts S-2-SE Special, G-EWIZ: Gloucestershire Airport (EGBJ), Staverton, Gloucestershire - UK

A pilot had a near miss after a faulty brake led to a crash landing at Gloucestershire Airport.

The 51-year-old was a licensed airline pilot who had thousands of hours of experience in the air.

He was flying solo in a Pitts Special aerobatic biplane during a private flight as he began to descend into Staverton.

But he was unable to stop the plane on landing due to a broken brake and veered off the runway before the aircraft tipped onto its nose.

The incident caused damage to the lower left wing, propeller, wheel and spat although the pilot walked away from the scene without injury.

The incident happened just after 4pm on March 7 and was taken up by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB). The report was made public on Thursday.

Darren Lewington, head of operations at Gloucestershire Airport, said that this was a “minor” incident which caused “minimal damage” to the aircraft.

He added: “The plane was flown by a very experienced commercial pilot and the brake fault resulted in minor damage to the aircraft, which has been repaired and is flying again.

“UK aviation is the most stringently regulated of the transport industries and has world-leading safety standards.

“Our own internal incident investigation processes, and those of the AAIB and CAA are designed to share lessons learned in these events in an open, transparent way.”

The aircraft accident report was submitted to the AAIB by the pilot, who had 15,297 hours flight experience.

A spokesman for the AAIB said: “After making a normal touchdown on Runway 27 at Gloucestershire Airport, the aircraft began to turn right as it slowed through 40kt.

“Despite the application of full left rudder and brake, the pilot was unable to stop the right turn.

“The aircraft then departed the paved surfaced and nosed over in the grass beside the runway. The wind was from 360° at 6kt.

“The pilot reported that a subsequent examination of the aircraft found that the left brake was not working correctly.”

Full Story and Photo:  http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk

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