Andrewsfield Aerodrome pilot escaped crash with minor injuries

Extensive damage was caused to the aircraft, the investigator said

An 81-year-old pilot and his passenger escaped with minor injuries after a crash during landing at an airfield in Essex, an investigation found.

The Sukhoi SU-29 suffered extensive damage at Andrewsfield Aerodrome near Braintree.

CCTV showed the wingtip hit the ground causing the plane to "cartwheel", an investigator said.

A report said it was likely the plane's "airspeed reduced" causing the aircraft to "roll to the left".

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the passenger, a woman who was a recently qualified pilot herself, was able to "free herself" from the crash scene, but the pilot required assistance.

Immediately flipped

The incident happened on the runway, near Great Saling village, on 16 September last year at 13:10 BST.

"The wingtip struck the ground causing the aircraft to cartwheel and it came to rest inverted in a ploughed field," said the AAIB investigator.

"[The pilot] reported he had been flying the aircraft for 15 years so could not understand why he would have allowed this to happen."

The Sukhoi SU-29 is a Russian two-seater aerobatic aircraft.

The report added: "The passenger reported that the approach had seemed normal until the wing dropped.

"She recalled that when the wing dropped the aircraft was so low it immediately flipped over."