The Piper plane similar to the one in the accident
A 73-YEAR-old Donegal pilot managed to escape injury when his plane – built in 1949 – flipped over on landing, air accident investigators have found.
The aircraft was landing on Runway 15 at Enniskillen, having flown in from Letterkenny Airfield, when the incident happened, says a report released by the UK Air Accident Investigations Branch.
The pilot, who has huge experience and more than 1,600 hours in the air, was unable to properly explain what happened, said the investigators.
His Piper PA-16, EI-AEL went into a spin on landing, causing damage to right main landing gear, propeller and right wing.
The incident happened last October but details only emerged in a report released by the Department of Transport in London last night on the plane, registered in Lifford.
The report says: “Following an approach which was “entirely stable in terms of height and speed”, the aircraft touched down but immediately ground-looped to the right, coming to rest with the right main landing gear collapsed inwards underneath the fuselage.
“Examination showed that several structural elements of the right main landing gear had broken, apparently in overload, consistent with right sideslip being present at touchdown.
“The pilot is unsure whether the ground loop occurred as a result of the collapse or had precipitated the collapse.
“He suggested that the right brake may have been locked on for some reason, although the wheel was found to rotate normally.”
The pilot and his passenger were unhurt.
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