Accident to the Piper PA19 registered F-BRUL on 08/02/2023 at Ancenis

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

1. History of the flight

The pilot, accompanied by an instructor, took off at 17:08 from paved runway 07[1] at Ancenis aerodrome. It was the second familiarization flight[2] on the PA19 before the pilot could fly solo on this type of aeroplane.

At 17:25, after the fourth and last runway circuit, during the landing run, after 100 m, the aeroplane veered to the left. The instructor took the controls to bring the aeroplane back on the runway centreline. The aeroplane slightly came back to the right then banked to the left while turning 90° and came to a stop on the runway centreline, leaning on the left wingtip.

The instructor and the pilot shut down the electrical circuits, the fuel supply and exited the aircraft.

2. Additional information

The pilot held a valid aeroplane private pilot licence issued in 1996. He had logged 700 flight hours. He wished to fly solo on the PA19 and had logged 55 min of flight time on this type of aeroplane.

The instructor held a valid aeroplane private pilot licence issued in March 2002 with an instructor rating issued in October 2015. He had logged 2,100 flight hours.

The weather conditions identified at the aerodrome by the instructor and the pilot were as follows: north-easterly wind at 5 kt, CAVOK.

The Piper PA19 is a monoplane with strut-braced high-wings, two tandem seats, a conventional landing gear and a 90 hp Continental engine. The aeroplane registered F-BRUL had an airworthiness certificate valid until June 2023. It belonged to the Aéroclub du pays d’Ancenis.

The main landing gear struts are connected to the underside of the fuselage. A suspension tie rod positions each strut so that the main landing gear wheels are vertical. The suspension tie rod allows the strut to travel to absorb the forces during the landing.

The rupture of the left suspension tie rod led the strut of the left main landing gear to rotate upwards during the landing run and to the aeroplane banking to the left until the wingtip touched the ground.

The left wingtip and the wingtip’s ribs were damaged.

Figure 1: position of the aeroplane stopped on the runway
(source: instructor)

Figure 2: left landing gear strut and broken suspension tie rod
(source: instructor)

The instructor indicated that the suspension tie rod probably showed signs of fatigue, due to repeated landings, especially on paved runways. He added that in his opinion, this type of fragility is hard to detect during the before flight checks.

MAY 2023