A student pilot on their final training flight felt the plane begin to ‘wobble’ seconds before crashing onto the runway at Dundee Airport. The Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) were called in after the Piper PA-34, which had three people onboard, was badly damaged during the incident on June 1, 2022.
Police and fire crews raced to the scene with the travel hub closed for several hours to allow the stricken aircraft to be recovered. Thankfully, no one was injured. After examining the plane, investigators have discovered that the crash was caused by the landing gear collapsing just moments after touching down.
Revealing their findings in a report, the AAIB confirmed that the experienced trainer, 61, managed to take over from the student pilot after the plane veered to the right. They said: “The aircraft had completed a final training flight on a multi-engine pilot (MEP) course and was on final approach at Dundee Airport.
“The downwind checks had been carried out and the student pilot confirmed “three greens”, indicating the landing gear was down and locked. Following what the instructor described as a normal landing, the aircraft began to wobble, listed to the right and the propeller on the right engine and the right wing struck the runway.
“The instructor took control and managed to keep the aircraft reasonably straight and brought the aircraft to a stop. The occupants escaped unhurt.
“On exiting the aircraft it was clear the right main landing had collapsed. After the accident the engineers from the maintenance organisation responsible for the aircraft checked the entire hydraulic and electrical system and no fault could be found.
“Despite repeated selections of the landing gear there was no evidence of failure of the main and nose landing gear down lock safety mechanism and switches. The aircraft was subsequently not repaired as the aircraft has been written off by the insurers.”
A statement issued by Police Scotland at the time said: “Around 12.30pm on Wednesday June 1, police were called after a light aircraft with three people on board, sustained damage whilst making a landing at Dundee Airport.
“No one has been injured. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau has been made aware.”
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