I have had an incident with my Europa (G-MIME) due to an outrigger not
being latched down for landing. I thought members of the forum with
monowheel Europas would like information of this event to help them
consider whether this event has any learning points for them.
Background
G-MIME has 220hrs and has had no previous history of this problem
since its permit was issued in 2001. It has the latest outrigger mod
which improves the mounting and lubricates the pivot. The legs were
able to move freely before and after the incident. It was also fitted
with microswitches to sense when the outriggers were locked down (more
of that later!!).
The Incident
I was landing on runway 26 at Caernarfon at 12.35pm local time on
Sunday 13th July in excellent weather conditions with a surface wind of
230/8kts. The landing was smooth and nothing was noticed until full
aileron authority was lost at about 20-30kts. At this point the right
wing dropped. I applied full left aileron but was unable to prevent the
right wing tip touching the runway. The aircraft veered rapidly to the
left and it temporarily pitched just sufficient for the propeller to
graze the runway stopping the engine. The aircraft left the runway
surface and settled back onto its tailwheel on the grass.
Initial Analysis
The only damage was grazing to the leading edge tips of the propeller
blades, the underside of the starboard wingtip and the front of the
starboard outrigger spat.
The aircraft ended up in a normal parked attitude. On exiting the
aircraft I lifted the starboard wing only to find that the outrigger
was now locked down. I put this down to the slight drop from the runway
surface onto the grass allowing the outrigger to spring forward.
Further examination of the outrigger gave no clue as to why the
outrigger didnt lock down initially.
The aircraft is fitted with a slipper clutch so no check of the
crankshaft was deemed necessary.
Subsequent Events
The support by all aviators and the ground services at Caernarfon was
superb. In particular a local PFA inspector (Druid Petrie) was
exceptional. Without his help the aircraft would have still been at
Caernarfon now. A local flexwing microlight pilot offered me the use of
his Arplast ground adjustable prop. We initially accepted his offer
until it was realised that in pusher mode these props rotate in the
wrong direction for a tractor application. Druid then rang around and
found a Warpdrive prop on a Europa which was out of permit. Although
this was a 45 minute drive away he collected the prop, adjusted the
blade angle for the extra power of my 912S engine and fitted it to my
Europa. During the afternoon a friend of mine with a Mooney kindly
flew over in case we needed a lift back to Wiltshire. We finally left
Caernarfon at 7.10pm arriving back at Lydeway at 8.25pm.
Learning Points
As I said earlier I had fitted microswitches to enable me to know when
the outriggers are locked down as this cannot be confirmed visually.
Last year I had a few occasions when there has been a problem with the
earth return cable preventing both lights from illuminating. I had been
meaning to address this problem but as the problem had not re-occurred
so far this season I had planned to defer this maintenance until the
next service. This modification is a personal one and is not required
by the LAA. It was bad luck that this problem reoccurred at start-up
out of Lydeway on Sunday. Ironically the system worked fine for the
subsequent return sector to Lydeway which was very reassuring for the
landing. I have learnt that having an indication showing when the
outriggers are locked down is a very valuable asset. I was also unlucky
in that the direction of the wind was such that the slight crosswind
was from the wrong side. Had it either been the other outrigger or the
wind from the starboard side I might have been able to raise the wing,
take-off again and try reselecting the landing gear down. There have
been incidents of outriggers being sluggish to latch down when the gear
is lowered close to maximum speed (83kts). In this case I was slowed up
by some flexwings ahead of me in the circuit so the gear wasnt lowered
until 65kts so this was not an issue. I am now even more convinced than
ever that a system which indicates when the outriggers are locked down
is a worthwhile addition to monowheel Europas.
I was touched by the kindness of other pilots in their assistance
during this stressful afternoon. However the hero of the day was Druid
whose determined and professional approach to the problem ensured that
the optimal solution was achieved. Caernarfon is a great place to fly
to and I would encourage others to fly there. I shall certainly be
flying back there as and when the weather permits. Perhaps we might
arrange a DOTH there in the near future.
Regards
Nigel Charles
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