Accident to the Piper PA28 registered F-HLEM on 03/05/2024 at Montpellier-Méditerrannée

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

The pilot, unaccompanied, took off from secondary runway 30L[1] to carry out runway circuits. During the first runway circuit, on final for runway 30L, the pilot configured the aeroplane with the flaps in the first detent and a speed of 70 kt. The pilot was cleared for the touch-and-go, the wind reported by the controller on short final was 190°, 8 to 10 kt. The pilot landed halfway down the runway. He increased power, during the rotation the aeroplane deviated to the RH side. The pilot then countered this with an input on the LH pedal and the aeroplane veered off the LH side of the runway.

Figure 1: position of aeroplane immobilized in aerodrome fence (souce: aerodrome operator)

2 Additional information

2.1 Pilot information

The 69-year-old pilot held a private pilot licence issued in 2000. He had logged approximately 400 flight hours including around 100 hours on the PA28. The pilot indicated that he flew on average once every two months. In the previous five months, he had carried out three flights of about thirty minutes. Due to the weather conditions in April, he had postponed his flight several times.

The pilot indicated that before the flight he had consulted the ATIS which indicated wind from 170° of 5 kt, and that he was aware that there would be a tailwind during the landing. He added that, given his recent experience, he should not have undertaken the flight in these conditions.

The pilot specified that he had without doubt, countered the aeroplane’s deviation to the right with too hard a input on the left pedal. He believed that he could still take off and did not reduce the engine power. The pilot estimated the speed as being 60 kt when he ran off the runway.

2.2 Meteorological information

The recorded meteorological conditions were (UTC time[2]):

METAR LFMT 031000Z AUTO 15005KT 110V180 CAVOK 18/03 Q1016 NOSIG=

METAR LFMT 031030Z AUTO 20010KT 160V220 CAVOK 18/08 Q1016 NOSIG=

METAR LFMT 031100Z AUTO 20010KT CAVOK 19/07 Q1016 NOSIG=