Accident to the Piper PA28-181 registered F-GYNN on 26/10/21 at Pérouges - Meximieux (l'Ain)

Cat. 3 investigation report: report concerning an occurrence with limited consequences, based on one or more statements not independently validated by the BEA.

This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in November 2021. 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 made by the pilot. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1 - HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT

Around 11:25, the pilot, accompanied by a passenger, took off from runway 16 at Pérouges-Meximieux aerodrome for a local flight. After a flight time of approximately
30 minutes, the pilot returned to the departure aerodrome. He flew over the facilities, without paying attention to the windsock and joined the left-hand downwind leg for a landing on runway 16. On final, considering he was too high above the approach slope, he aborted the approach and joined the beginning of the downwind leg for runway 16. On final, with the flaps in landing configuration and at a speed of 65 kt, the pilot touched down beyond the first third of the runway. He heard a message on the radio from another pilot on the ground telling him that he was landing with a tailwind. He indicated that he braked hard[1] but, seeing that the end of the runway was getting closer while still at a high speed, he turned left. The aeroplane skidded and overran the runway, before travelling over a hump and a ditch beyond the end of the runway. The right main landing gear collapsed and the nose gear leg bent. The aeroplane came to rest on a path.

2 - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The weather conditions at Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport, located 10 NM south-west of the aerodrome, were as follows:

- 11:00: wind from the North at 3 kt;
- 11:30: wind from the North at 5 kt;
- 12:00: wind from the North at 8 kt;
- 12:30: wind from the north-northwest at 11 kt;
- Overcast;
- Temperature 15 °C;
- QNH 1025 hPa.

The 62-year-old pilot, who held a PPL (A) private pilot licence issued in 2017, had logged 247 landings and 225 flight hours, of which 140 hours as pilot-in-command and
3 flight hours in the previous three months, all in this aeroplane.
The pilot indicated that he had logged about 200 flight hours in this aeroplane. He said that as he had taken off from runway 16 with a calm wind 30 minutes earlier, he had not thought of checking the windsock when he returned. After the accident, according to him, the windsock indicated a northerly wind of about 5 to 10 kt. On the first approach, he had not analysed that his high approach slope could be the result of a significant tailwind component. He also stated that when he heard the radio message indicating a tailwind during his landing, he did not think to go around and land on runway 34.