This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in July September 2020. 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

Returning from a local flight of about one hour with two passengers, the pilot arrived overhead Vinon aerodrome and joined the aerodrome circuit for unpaved runway 28[1].

The pilot landed at the displaced threshold and let the plane decelerate. After a 200 m run, at about 70 km/h, the plane veered to the right. The deviation increased until reaching an angle of 30° to the runway axis. The pilot applied left rudder input, without effect on the path, then operated the brakes using the control lever. At a deviation of around 60°, the plane skidded and the pilot increased the braking input. The left landing gear collapsed followed by the right landing gear. The plane stopped at approximately 15 m on the right of the runway axis.

2 - Additional information

The 49-year-old pilot held an ATPL(A) Airline Transport Pilot License. He also held an SPL glider pilot license and an FI(A) instructor rating.

He had logged approximately 9,800 flight hours, of which approximately 1,900 hours were on light aeroplanes and approximately 4,000 hours on gliders. He had logged 11 flight hours on light aeroplanes including approximately 6 hours of dual flight time in the previous four months[2] and 3 hours and 8 landings with the F-BJJR in the previous week.

The pilot explained that he made a three-point landing at about 110 km/h with the speed brakes extended, in accordance with the flight manual of this conventional landing gear aeroplane. The wind was very calm.

The pilot indicated that the runway had some bumps. On the day of the accident, the grass was very dry, almost non-existent. According to him, it may have been a bump on the runway that destabilized the plane during the run. It was probably his action on the brakes that led to the collapse of the main landing gear during the skid.

The pilot explained that the DR1050 is complicated during the landing run, because below a speed of about 60 km/h, the effectiveness of the rudder decreases sharply. There is a certain lag between the pedal inputs and the tailwheel’s reaction.

Note: the BEA database includes eight accidents with this model of aircraft during landing runs, between 2014 and 2018, in France and the United Kingdom.