Accident to the Cessna 525 registered D-ISWA on 16/04/2018 at Le Touquet

Note: The following information is principally based on the pilot’s statement. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in March 2020. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference.

1 - HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT

The pilot, accompanied by a passenger, was conducting a flight from Cologne airport (Germany) to Le Touquet aerodrome. The pilot indicated that just after landing on paved runway 31, the aircraft deviated to the left. He initially managed to counter this deviation by using the brakes and nosewheel steering control. After running what he thought to be around 250 m on the runway, he was unable to hold the aircraft, which went off the runway and travelled about 70 m through the grass. The right main landing gear and the nose gear broke and the aircraft came to a stop.

Witnesses on the ground indicated that, immediately after touchdown, very thick smoke was observed near the left main landing gear. A long rubber mark was visible from the touchdown area to the aircraft’s position and was consistent with rubber from the left main landing gear tire. The tire was found burst and separated from its wheel rim.

2 - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The pilot explained that during the pre-flight inspection, he had not found any anomaly on the landing gears.

He added that during the take-off, at a speed of about 70 kt, the aircraft suddenly deviated to the left. The pilot corrected this deviation without effort and the take-off continued without any other incident.