Accident to the Cessna 182 registered N5296S on 18/05/2022 at Barcelonnette

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in July 2021. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference.

Note: the following information is principally based on statements made by the pilot. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, took off from Cannes-Mandelieu airport bound for Barcelonnette-Saint-Pons, whose published altitude is 3,714 ft. On arrival, the pilot flew overhead the facilities at an altitude of 5,000 ft and then joined, at 4,500 ft, the downwind leg for runway 09 (800 x 30 m). The pilot indicated that he started the final approach at too high an altitude (4,800 ft) and that he was on short final with a high speed (75 kt instead of 65 kt in landing configuration). He stated that he performed a sideslip to try to intercept the approach slope but that the touchdown nevertheless occurred at the midpoint of the runway. The pilot applied the brakes and then, believing that he did not have enough distance left to stop, increased the power to take off again. Judging that the remaining distance was not sufficient, he finally decided to abort
the go-around.

The aeroplane veered off the left side of the runway near displaced threshold 27, struck a ditch filled with stones which slowed it down and crossed a main road beyond the end of the runway before coming to rest.

2. Additional information

2.1. Pilot information

The 69-year-old pilot held a FAA CPL/IR (A) license issued in 2010 and had passed his BFR[1] in February 2021. At the time of the accident, he had logged 1,897 flight hours on aeroplanes, including 1,197 h on type and 13 h in the previous three months, including 9 h on type.

He indicated that he had good mountain flying experience, particularly with high
altitude aerodromes in the United States. This was his first flight to the Barcelonnette-Saint-Pons aerodrome.

2.2. Safety lessons

A destabilized approach with a high speed and vertical speed, on too steep a slope for landing on a short runway should have led the pilot to consider carrying out a missed approach and attempting an approach again. 

The observation of the runway environment from overhead the facilities allows the pilot to
determine a landing strategy, taking the key points into account. If this strategy has to be reconsidered following changes to some of its parameters, this should lead the pilot to abort the approach and not to improvise a new dynamic strategy.

In general, the consequences of a low energy runway excursion will be less serious than a mid-air collision with an obstacle during a missed approach.