Five escaped injury in emergency landing at Offaly airfield

An air accident investigation into the emergency landing of a small aircraft in Offaly outlined how the five people on board escaped injury despite the pilot having to make an emergency landing when the engine lost all power.

A pilot and four skydivers were on board the plane when the serious events unfolded at Clonbullogue Airfield in October 2018.

A report by the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) was commissioned two days after the incident took place. The report was published for the first time on Friday last, July 14.

It stated that, during the emergency landing at the airfield, the aircraft "skidded sideways along the grass runway, and came to a stop on a tarmac area beyond the end of the runway."

Although the pilot and four skydivers were uninjured, the engine of the aircraft was found to have sustained "substantial damage," according to the AAIU report.

It explained that the plane, a Cessna 182L, had been taking part in a parachute operations flight on Saturday, October 6, 2018. This was the seventeenth flight of the day for the pilot and aircraft, and one more flight was planned.

The pilot reported that weather conditions were good at the time, and that the take-off had been uneventful.

With the plane ascending at around 3,500 feet, the pilot noticed "uncharacteristic engine vibrations and a reduction in power," which prevented it from climbing further.

“He broadcast on the airfield frequency, reporting an engine failure, and that his intention was to return to the airfield,” the report stated.

“The pilot informed the investigation that he briefed the skydivers on the situation and that he was returning to the airfield.”

The aircraft continued in a westerly direction towards the airfield. Having just passed over some farm buildings, the engine “failed completely and all power was lost”.

The aircraft began to lose altitude and the pilot, aware of trees on the approach to the reciprocal runway at Clonbullogue, executed a 180-degree left turn.

“During the turn, the stall warning horn activated intermittently,” the report said. “The pilot informed the investigation he was aware that, due to the rate of descent and speed of the aircraft, it would overshoot the runway.

“Therefore, he opted to put the aircraft down onto (the runway) as soon as possible.... (The pilot) applied full left rudder and aileron to turn the aircraft and it skidded sideways along the grass runway

“Video evidence and ground scarring show that as the aircraft skidded sideways, the left wing pitched down and the right wheel lifted off the ground. The tail struck the ground as the nose wheel lifted.”

The aircraft, still moving in a sideways motion, departed the grass surface onto a tarmac area beyond the end of the runway, where it came to a stop, and the pilot and skydivers evacuated.

The pilot told the investigation that, in addition to the previous flights on the date of the incident, he had also flown the aircraft the previous day, and that it had been operating normally.

After the emergency landing, the aircraft’s engine “exhibited significant damage” and was later removed under AAIU supervision and sent to an approved engine maintenance facility for further investigation.

One of the skydivers interviewed as part of the investigation said he realised that, when the plane was descending, the engine “did not sound right” and, at an estimated altitude of between 700 and 900 feet, the engine stopped and he “could feel the aircraft shudder”.

The skydiver said the pilot was “working very hard to manage the aircraft” and that all of the skydivers were instructed to adopt the “brace” position and grab their respective restraint straps for landing.

“All skydivers interviewed also noted that they sustained no injuries,” said the report.

The investigation stated that the airworthiness certification for the aircraft was valid at the time, as were the pilot’s licence, ratings and medical certification.

It found that the probable cause of the engine failure was “a fractured crankshaft due to localised heat-induced cracking”. No safety recommendations were made in the report.