Pilot praised after in-flight emergency

A pilot has been praised for calmly responding to an in-flight emergency after a hinge became detached.

The 55-year-old took off in a light aircraft from Old Buckenham Airfield in Norfolk at 18:20 BST on 23 May 2025 but soon heard a "clunk" and felt a jolt at 400ft.

After carrying out checks, the pilot identified that the outer edge of the moving flap on the left wing had partially broken away and declared a "mayday". This could make the plane hard to turn or keep level.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) report said: "The action taken by the pilot to calmly and methodically troubleshoot and identify the issue, before applying a threat-and-error-management strategy, is good practice when responding to in-flight emergencies."

An assessment of the Piper PA-22-108 aircraft found the left outboard aileron hinge clevis pin was missing, and the hinge bracket was worn.

On the right-hand side, the clevis pin was a "non-standard part" and had a larger diameter than the part specified by the aircraft manufacturer and also had a worn hinge bracket.

AAIB said the plane's maintenance history did not identify when the pin had been replaced, and it was considered to predate current ownership.

It said that replacement parts should be in accordance with the manufacturer's manuals and that, in this case, a workaround seemed to have been used, which led to a "premature component failure".

The AAIB said the pilot's actions lessened the possibility of the aileron detaching in flight.

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