Accident to the Issoire APM20 registered F-HACD on 29/06/2023 at Chavenay

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 the instructor’s and student pilot’s statements. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

The student pilot, accompanied by an instructor, took off at 20:50 from runway 28[1] at Chavenay–Villepreux aerodrome for a local flight. In total, he carried out two engine out exercises with the engine in idle and three runway circuits, all for runway 28.

A full-stop landing was planned on completion of the third runway circuit. During the final approach, the aeroplane was on the approach slope[2] and the speed was stable at 70 kt. The flaps were intentionally not deployed for the exercise.

The student flared, the aeroplane stabilised a few feet above the runway and then “slightly stalled”. The RH main landing gear came into contact with the runway and the associated wheel separated from it. The aeroplane tilted to the RH side and started to deviate towards the RH side of the runway. The student then applied full power. Immediately after this, the instructor took the controls and shut down the power in less than a second. He made a full left stick input and applied full left pedal but the aeroplane continued to deviate to the right. The aeroplane slid over roughly 150 m before coming to a halt a little before the right edge of the runway and perpendicular to the runway centreline.

2. Additional information

2.1. Student pilot information

The 26-year-old student pilot was in training to obtain the PPL(A)). He had logged 17 flight hours, all on the APM20, including three hours in the three months prior to the accident.

He explained that the contacts with the runway had not been particularly rough during his flight.

2.2. Instructor information

The 25-year-old instructor held a CPL(A) obtained in November 2020 along with an aeroplane instructor rating obtained in January 2021. He had logged 1,251 flight hours , including 42 hours on the APM20. In the three months preceding the accident, he had logged 216 flight hours, including 7 hours on the APM20.

He indicated that the wind was coming from 270° of a speed of 5 kt  and gusts of 10 kt.

April 2024