THE propeller and nose cone of an aircraft were damaged in a crash at Lasham Airfield, it was revealed this week.

Information from the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) reveals that the problem occurred when a Stemme aircraft was about to take off from the runway at the airfield at around 1pm on April 2.

The pilot was asked by the launch point controller to instead use the grass by the side of Runway 16.

The aircraft accelerated as usual up to the point it was about to become airborne, when the wheels hit a “boggy/very soft area of grass”.

The impact led to a rapid deceleration, causing the aircraft to pitch down and for the nose and propeller to hit the ground.

Both the pilot and passenger escaped uninjured in the incident.