Accident to the Morane Saulnier MS893 registered F-BPYX on 04/07/2023 at Aspres-sur-Buëch

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 pilot’s statement. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

On the afternoon of 4 July, the pilot carried out glider towing flights from Aspres-sur-Buëch aerodrome. He carried out four towing flights separated by intervals of between one and one and a half hours. He used runway 36[1]. The pilot indicated that his landings got longer and longer over the afternoon. 

At the end of the last towing flight, the pilot stated that he made the final approach at a speed of between 90 and 100 km/h with the flaps in the first detent position. He followed the same path taken during the previous approach. He chose the intersection of runways 18/36 and 10/28[2] as the aiming point. He explained that he was late in extending the flaps to the second detent and relaxed his monitoring of the flight path. The aeroplane landed after the intersection, overran the runway and went through a hedge at the edge of the runway. The nose gear broke and the aeroplane came to a halt.

Figure 1: excerpt from Aspres-sur-Buëch aerodrome VAC chart

2. Additional information

2.1 Meteorological information

The METAR for Valence Chabeuil airport, situated at 75 km from Aspres-sur-Buëch aerodrome indicated the following meteorological conditions:

• mean wind from 230° at 12 kt, varying in direction between 190° and 280°;
• visibility greater than 10 km;
• QNH 1016 hPa;
• temperature 26 °C.

The pilot reported that the weather at the aerodrome was good, with a surface breeze from the south-west and an upper level flow from the west. The air was convective, with the base of the cumulus clouds at 2,300 m.

2.2 Pilot information

The 59-year-old pilot held a valid aeroplane private pilot licence, fixed-wing microlight pilot licence and glider pilot licence. He held the glider instructor and examiner rating. He had totalled around 307 aeroplane flight hours and 3,435 glider flight hours. He had flown around two hours on aeroplanes in the previous three months, including thirty minutes on the Morane Saulnier Rallye. He had totalled around 40 flight hours on this type of aeroplane.

The pilot stated that he had not initially planned to fly the glider club’s tug plane that day as someone else was supposed to do it. On this person having an impediment, he finally accepted to replace them. He indicated that his last towing flight at this aerodrome had been six months previously and he considered that this recent experience was small. He also indicated that he was not fully concentrated on his flights, as he was working remotely, for his professional activity, during the free time between towing flights. In particular, he stated that after his first long landing, he did not analyse his flight sufficiently, as he had to concentrate on his work.

He indicated that the presence of a third party would have made it possible to spot any deviations from safety and alert him.