Accident to the Diamond H36 registered D-KLIN le 01/10/2023 at Maubeuge

Bounced landing on a closed runway

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation. 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 from the pilot and the operator. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

At the end of a local flight, the pilot carried out an aerodrome circuit for unpaved runway 23[1]. The pilot explained that during the landing, the motor glider bounced with a marked nose-up attitude. He pushed the stick forward to prevent stalling and the propeller struck the ground and broke on coming into contact with the ground a second time; the left leg of the landing gear was also damaged.

Unpaved runway 23 was closed by NOTAM due to the heavy precipitation in the previous days. The pilot explained that he had seen other aircraft use this runway which had prompted him to land there. One of the managers of the Centre aéronautique vélivole de l’Avesnois explained that at the time of the accident, the runway’s condition was satisfactory and had not contributed to the occurrence.

2. Additional information

2.1 Aircraft information

he Hoffmann Diamond H-36 Dimona registered D-KLIN is a training motor glider whose design dates back to the beginning of the 1980s. It was initially built by Hoffmann Fluzeugbau and then by Diamond Aircraft. It is a side-by-side two-seat, low wing aircraft with a T-shaped tail unit and fixed conventional landing gear.

2.2 Pilot information

The 69-year-old pilot held a sailplane pilot licence obtained in November 2009 and a motor glider class rating obtained in February 2022. At the time of the accident, he had logged 412 flight hours.

The pilot had been authorised for solo flight on this aircraft the week previously and was carrying out his second flight as pilot-in-command on this motor glider.

2.3 Meteorological information

The pilot indicated that at the time of the accident, the 12 km/h wind was on the runway axis, the temperature was 18°C and visibility was good.