A pilot seriously injured in a microlight crash was not wearing all of his safety harnesses, a report has found.

The man sustained serious facial injuries when his aircraft slammed into the ground while attempting to land in Sellindge, between Ashford and Hythe, last year.

Emergency services were called to the scene at about 2.30pm on August 6, 2022, after the single-propeller light aircraft tipped over on the runway at the Kent Microlight Club base at Harringe Court Farm.

An investigation report by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) revealed that investigators were unable to determine the cause of the crash.

The report said the pilot, a man in his 60s, had a private pilot’s licence and had recorded more than 300 hours of flying time in microlights.

Having arrived at the airfield that morning and prepped the Pegasus Quick machinet for a solo flight, he took off in generally good conditions at 12.34pm with the intention of flying to two other airfields in the area before returning.

Due to his injuries in the subsequent crash the pilot told investigators he had lost all recollection of events after takeoff – but his route to the local airstrips, both of which he had flown to before, was pieced together using flight data and his mobile phone.

However, on his return to Harringe Farm at about 1.45pm, a witness told investigators they saw the crash unfold in the middle of what appeared to be a normal final approach.

An excerpt from the report reads: “The witness reported that after touching down, the aircraft bounced to a height of about a metre before touching down again.

“On doing so, they described seeing the left rear wheel of the tricycle undercarriage slowly lift into the air.

“They expected to see it settle onto the ground again, but it continued to rise until the aircraft’s right-wing tip caught the ground, bringing the aircraft abruptly to a halt on its right side.”

When members of the public got to the crashed aircraft to assist the pilot, they found him seriously injured.

Emergency services were called and he was airlifted to hospital for treatment.

The investigation surmised that during the flight, the pilot had only been wearing the lap component of his three-point harness, leaving the shoulder strap tied up behind the seat.

The pilot commented he had never used the shoulder strap on any microlight he had flown, and the one in the crashed aircraft was not particularly long which normally resulted in a relatively tight fit, making it difficult to use.

The report noted that safety manuals state seat harnesses should be worn at all times, warning that “failure to put on safety harness and wear front seat or rear seat shoulder straps could be the cause of injury or death in the event of an accident”.

As a result, during the crash he had been thrown forward, causing his head to collide with the aircraft’s vertical strut with such force that it buckled the clear plastic visor attached to his helmet, breaking part of it off.

“The aircraft bounced to a height of about a metre before touching down again...”

It would later be found approximately 20 metres away from the crash site.

The report concluded that the cause of the crash could not be identified, but that there had been no fault with the aircraft’s mechanisms or poor weather.

“As the pilot had not worn the shoulder strap, his upper torso would not have been restrained during the impact and the visor on his helmet would only have provided limited protection to his face,” it added.

“It is probable that both these facts resulted in the pilot sustaining serious facial injuries during the impact.”