Hawk incident update
Date: 19 March 2009
Adding to our previous report, it now appears that the Hawk experienced a dragchute failure on a wet runway while landing at night.
The Hawk lead-in fighter trainer aircraft overran the end of the runway at Swartkop and sustained minor damages to its undercarriage. The incident happened on 18 March 2009 at approximately 21:15 while the aircraft landed after a routine training flight.
The brake parachute failed during the first landing attempt. The crew took off again to burn off fuel to lighten the aircraft for the final precautionary landing. During this landing, the aircraft overran the runway due to the reduced braking efficiency without the braking parachute and that was aggravated further by wet runway. The crew did not sustain any injuries and a board of inquiry has since been convened to investigate the incident further.
It is unconfirmed if the pilot retracted the gear to prevent the aircraft from going through the northern boundary wall, with the gear retracting asymmetrically and the aircraft leaving the runway and caming to a halt.
