Wittman W8 Tailwind, G-BDBD, 2 August 2011

Wittman W8 Tailwind, G-BDBD

Summary:

The aircraft commander was conducting a ‘checkout’ flight for a PPL qualified pilot under the LAA coaching scheme. The aircraft was only fitted with one set of brake pedals for use by the occupant of the left seat, which in this case was the pilot undergoing the check. The commander occupied the right seat. Following an uneventful flight, the commander carried out a normal landing on Runway 18, with a light wind from the south-west. After the touchdown and initial rollout, the aircraft began to drift to the right. The commander reported that normal input of the rudder did not correct the drift, so he asked the pilot in the left seat to apply the left brake pedal. The drift to the right then rapidly increased until the aircraft left the runway and ground looped to the right. The left landing gear leg collapsed and the aircraft suffered extensive damage. Both pilots considered that an inadvertent application of the right brake pedal rather than the left, might have contributed to the loss of control. The commander reported that inspection of the aircraft following the event had also identified a pre-accident partial failure of the left gear leg mount.

This overview has been truncated. Please refer to the official documents below for the complete canonical report.

68 © Crown copyright 2011 AAIB Bulletin: 12/2011 G-BDBD EW/G2011/08/01 ACCIDENT Aircraft Type and Registration: Wittman W8 Tailwind, G-BDBD No & Type of Engines: 1 Continental Motors Corp O-200-A piston engine Year of Manufacture: 1963 Date & Time (UTC): 2 August 2011 at 1500 hrs Location: Wellsbourne Airfield, Warwickshire Type of Flight: Training Persons on Board: Crew - 2 Passengers - None Injuries: Crew - 1 (Minor) Passengers - N/A Nature of Damage: Propeller, engine, engine mount, left landing gear, landing gear mount, left wing damaged Commander’s Licence: Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence Commander’s Age: 56 years Commander’s Flying Experience: 15,630 hours (of which 248 were on type) Last 90 days - 198 hours Last 28 days - 67 hours Information Source: Aircraft Accident Report Form submitted by the pilot The aircraft commander was conducting a ‘checkout’ flight for a PPL qualified pilot under the LAA coaching scheme. The aircraft was only fitted with one set of brake pedals for use by the occupant of the left seat, which in this case was the pilot undergoing the check. The commander occupied the right seat. Following an uneventful flight, the commander carried out a normal landing on Runway 18, with a light wind from the south-west. After the touchdown and initial rollout, the aircraft began to drift to the right. The commander reported that normal input of the rudder did not correct the drift, so he asked the pilot in the left seat to apply the left brake pedal. The drift to the right then rapidly increased until the aircraft left the runway and ground looped to the right. The left landing gear leg collapsed and the aircraft suffered extensive damage. Both pilots considered that an inadvertent application of the right brake pedal rather than the left, might have contributed to the loss of control. The commander reported that inspection of the aircraft following the event had also identified a pre-accident partial failure of the left gear leg mount.

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