Pilot – June 2018

94 | Pilot June 2018 | pilotweb.aero

As the aircraft rotated the
pilot believed that he might
have pulled back on the control
column too harshly, because
he felt the left wing drop and
thought it was stalling. His
recollection of the next few
seconds was muddled, but he
remembered seeing that he was
heading towards a hangar before
the left turn tightened. He was
not aware of making any control
inputs but did transmit a Mayday
call on the radio and was then
distracted when ATC asked for
information. He believed he
was overflying the hangar area
and sensed that the aircraft was
stalling again. He remembered
hearing the stall warner
sounding but could not recall if
this happened immediately after
takeoff or during the turn, and
it may have activated more than
once. As the left wing dropped
further the pilot believed that
he was too low to attempt a stall
recovery. He is unsure how the
aircraft avoided striking the
ground and was surprised to see
the runway ahead, which helped
him to reorientate himself and he
managed to regain control and
to roll-out back onto the runway
heading, from which he entered a
climb, joined the left hand visual
circuit and subsequently landed
back without further difficulty.
The takeoff and the low-level
manoeuvres were recorded by
several CCTV cameras and by
a witness on his mobile phone.
The recordings confirmed that
when the aircraft approached
the edge of the runway it rotated

abruptly and rolled into a left

turn, but the pitch attitude then

reduced and it made a short,

shallow climb until it reached

a height estimated to be no

greater than 100ft agl. At one

point the aircraft appeared to

start rolling out of the turn onto

a south-westerly track, which

might have taken it clear of the

hangar area, but the angle of

bank then increased suddenly.

It continued turning, flying at

approximately the same height

as the roof of the tallest hangar

and appeared to remain over the

area between the hangars and

runway, with its angle of bank

estimated to have reached 60º.

As it turned back towards the

runway it descended below the

level of the hangar roofs and the

angle of bank began to reduce,

but the left wingtip almost

touched the grass while still in

a left turn towards the runway,

with an estimated angle of bank

of 40º. It then started climbing

again and rolled out of the turn

while climbing towards the

north-west.

The operator that hired the

aircraft to the pilot reported that

he had learned to fly in Piper

PA-28s and during early lessons

had had difficulty applying

sufficient right rudder after

takeoff, but this was noted to be

a problem often encountered

at this stage in training. The

pilot subsequently soloed in

October 2016 and after passing

his PPL skills test in June 2017

undertook two hours, 25

minutes dual conversion training

on the PS-28 Cruiser, some

of which was flown in gusty

conditions, but it was not clear

if, during this training, he had

experienced a crosswind from

the left while taking off.

The PS-28 is lighter than the

PA-28 and is more sensitive

to control inputs and power

changes, and the operator

believes that throughout the

low level orbit the aircraft was

flying in a partially stalled state

until the pilot regained control

close to the ground. Directional

control was only lost after power

had been applied and therefore

the crosswind from the left may

have influenced the left turn,

with insufficient right rudder

being applied in response.

Following the operator’s

investigation the pilot received

further training and passed

a check flight with the chief

instructor, but was restricted to

flying PA-28s until he gained

more experience.

Latest Airprox

reports

The UK Airprox Board assessed

nineteen incidents during

its March meeting, of which

thirteen were aircraft-to-

aircraft. Three were assessed

as having a definite risk of

collision. ‘In the one Category

A providence played a major

part, and in the two Category Bs

safety was much reduced due

to serendipity, misjudgement,

inaction, or late sighting,’ it says.

‘The main themes were

five examples of poor tactical

planning (both pre-flight and/

or not updating the plan in flight

when circumstances changed);

four incidents of inaction or

flying too close to another

aircraft that had otherwise been

Safety Matters

BRIEFS:Colibri clobbered

The Colibri MB2 was on a test flight from Abbots Bromley

Airfield to renew its Permit To Fly following a protracted period

of maintenance and had not flown for some five years. The

CPL-rated pilot, who had logged a total of 16,702 hours and was

approved by the Light Aircraft Association to undertake test

flights, reported that the aircraft engine started easily, power and

magneto checks were satisfactory. After takeoff, at a height of

150ft, the engine lost power, ran erratically for a few seconds and

then stopped. The pilot initially turned right but, after considering

the nature of the terrain ahead, reversed the turn to the left

to attempt a forced landing. Beyond the airfield boundary is a

reservoir and thus he had few options and attempted a landing in

a field of standing maize, hitting the crop in a left-banked attitude.

The aircraft then struck the ground. The pilot suffered serious

injuries and was taken to hospital by air ambulance. The aircraft

was destroyed. A video of the accident showed the engine power

loss but the AAIB was unable to establish the cause.

Did insufficient right rudder set off the PS-28's uncontrolled gyrations?

The SR22 should have maintained 'greater lateral separation to the right'

PHOTO: AAIB/D FIRMAN