A plane was flying too low when it came into land at an airfield leading to it hitting the roof of a lorry travelling along a nearby road, an investigation has found.
A 63-year-old man was piloting the plane as it lowered its height on its trajectory into Finmere Airfield, Buckingham, and landing gear collided with an articulated lorry, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch stated.
Two people were on board at the time of the collision and luckily escaped injury, as did the lorry driver, reported OxfordshireLive.
The plane had been travelling from Elstree aerodrome in Hertfordshire when the incident took place at around 10.06am on August 24, 2022.
The pilot, who has 545 hours of flying experience, told the AAIB that he was "familiar" with Finmere, having flown to the airfield "several times" in the past.
According to the AAIB, most of the flight was "uneventful" but just before landing, the plane struck the lorry as it travelled along the small road next to the airfield and just off the busy A421.
When the plane was around a mile-and-a-half from landing, the pilot said he saw no traffic on the small road but as it approached the runway, he noticed a vehicle turning onto the road.
The AAIB report said: "As the aircraft approached, the pilot noticed a vehicle turning onto the road, which is 35 metres from the end of the runway, from the right in his peripheral vision. He stated that at this time he was focused on his landing point on the runway.
"He described hearing a ’bang’ as the aircraft passed over the road and the passenger saw an articulated vehicle pass underneath them. The pilot and passenger both suspected the right main landing gear had contacted the vehicle, although the flying characteristics of the aircraft did not change.
"The pilot opted to go around in order to assess if the aircraft had sustained any damage. The pilot and passenger were not able to visually identify any structural damage to the landing gear."
As Finmere Airfield is unable to provide air traffic control service, the pilot declared an emergency on the distress and diversion line and was told the plane could be inspected at Oxford or Elstree. He opted then to return to Elstree where ground operations confirmed they could not see any damage to the aircraft.
The plane landed without further incident but the driver of the lorry that was hit by the aircraft informed the AAIB and provided photographs showing tyre marks on the vehicle's roof. A maintenance inspection after the incident revealed no damage to the plane.
The AAIB report concluded: "The aircraft approached the aerodrome over a road lower than necessary to maintain a safe distance from traffic using the road, resulting in the right aircraft wheel contacting the top of an articulated vehicle as it passed beneath the aircraft."
