Shifnal crash landing was third time unlucky for pilot

He had already aborted two attempts to land at the airfield in order to go around and try again. And his third attempt ended in a crash landing.

But although the 1947-built Luscombe Silvaire aircraft owned by Jeffrey Smith of The Overlook, Fair Oak, Eccleshall, was seriously damaged, the pilot walked away with just bruises.

The crash happened on March 22 this year and is highlighted in a newly-published Air Accident Investigation Branch report. It says that the 58-year-old pilot, who had 492 hours of experience, 249 on this type of aircraft, had flown just over 20 miles from Abbots Bromley Airfield, where the aircraft was based, to Shifnal.

The weather was good and all pre-flight preparations and checks had been normal. However, on his first attempt at landing the report says he contacted the ground harder than intended, bounced and then did a "go-around" to make a second landing attempt.

On this second attempt though he found himself in the wrong position to land and did a third go-around. But on the third attempt the report says: "As he turned the aircraft onto base leg, the pilot was aware of its controls becoming less responsive and realised it was close to stalling.

"He lowered the nose and applied some power, but this did not improve the situation. The aircraft's left wing dropped suddenly and the aircraft impacted the ground soon after. The aircraft came to rest in an upright attitude. The pilot, who suffered only bruising, was able to make the aircraft switches safe before vacating through the door, which had partially opened.

"He observed that the aircraft's normally docile flight characteristics had probably given him the false impression that it would always be so forgiving."

The report says that the circuit height for landing at Shifnal is lower than at other airfields and that this can result in pilots having problems maintaining visual contact with runways. It continues : "The pilot's account of achieving very late visual contact with the runway suggests that this may have happened in this case. It is also likely that the aircraft's left wing stalled, the wing drop probably being due to the use of ailerons at about the point of stall."