An accident in the Northern Territory that left two pilots injured has demonstrated the major hazard that dust devils can pose to light aircraft during landing. It also shows the virtues of conducting an early go-around, should an approach become unstable.
On 18 April 2012, at about 1200, a Cessna 210 was attempting to land at the Nyirripi aircraft landing area in the Northern Territory. Although there were dust devils forecast, the supervisory pilot reported that there were none observed at Nyirripi.
The supervisory pilot reported that, during the landing flare, the aircraft had not been slowed sufficiently. As a result, the aircraft ballooned twice. The supervisory pilot took control of the aircraft with the intent of recovering to a normal landing. A gust of wind, however, caused the aircraft to yaw significantly to the left. The supervisory pilot applied full power to go-around but the aircraft did not climb. He then rolled the aircraft into a thirty-degree right bank to remain over clear ground, closer to the runway.
Realising that the aircraft was going to impact the ground, the supervisory pilot rolled the wings level. The aircraft impacted fairly hard and skidded about 100 m before coming to rest north of the runway and about 600 m from the threshold. The supervisory pilot was seriously injured and the pilot in command under supervision sustained minor injuries.
The aircraft operator has since issued guidance notes to all flight crew regarding windshear recognition and recovery, as well as a reminder of information in the procedures manual.
Read the report: Collision with terrain - Cessna 210, VH-TWP, Nyirripi (ALA), Northern Territory, on 18 April 2012, which includes important advice, and also provides links to other useful sources of information on the subject.
You can find this and other investigations in the ATSB’s Aviation Short Investigation Bulletin issue 11. The bulletin highlights valuable safety lessons for pilots, operators and safety managers.