Accident to the Robin DR400 registered F-GAED on 29/05/2024 at Arcachon

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 statements made by the pilot and AFIS agents. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

The pilot took off at 14:03 from runway 25L[1] for a local flight over the Bassin d’Arcachon area followed by four runway circuits. On the last landing, the aeroplane touched down mid-runway and bounced. After several bounces, the aeroplane’s nose gear struck the ground before the main landing gear as the pilot increased power to take off again. During the manoeuvre, the aeroplane deviated to the RH side and slightly rose above the paved runway. The lower surface of the outer leading edge of the RH wing struck the ground around 20 m after the end of the runway. The pilot then lost control of the aeroplane which struck a bank situated at around 20 m. The pilot’s head struck the LH lateral part of the canopy which broke.

People working close to the runway in use quickly arrived at the scene to help the pilot pending the arrival of the emergency services.

Figure 1: DR400 after the runway excursion (Source : BEA)

2. Additional information

2.1 Aerodrome information

Arcachon - La Teste-de-Buch aerodrome has two parallel runways oriented 07-25, a north paved runway and a south unpaved runway (LDA 904 m). Runway 25 is the preferred runway.

The day of the occurrence, the paved runway was closed as paint work was being carried out on it. At this aerodrome, an AFIS agent provides the flight information and alert services.

2.2 Meteorological information

At the time of the event, the AFIS agent reported wind from 250° of 7 kt with gusts of 12 kt.

2.3 Aircraft information

The Robin DR400-140 B registered F-GAED was built in 1976. The original seatbelts equipping the aeroplane were two point seatbelts.[2].

Some DR400 are equipped with an additional shoulder strap which provides a third attachment point. This strap is designed to provide better upper torso restraint in the event of sudden deceleration or an impact. F- GAED was not equipped with this strap which is not required by the regulations[3].

2.4 Pilot information

The 78-year-old pilot had totalled 406 flight hours, 134 hours of which as pilot-in-command. His recent experience was 8 h in the last 12 months and 16 h in the last 24 months. He held a valid class 2 medical certificate with the requirement to wear corrective lenses. The pilot was wearing his glasses for the occurrence flight.

He stated that he had never used the unpaved runway at this aerodrome before the occurrence flight. He declared that he had decided, prior to the flight, to carry out three runway circuits followed by full stop landings on returning from his local flight. As these three circuits had been flown without any particular difficulty, he decided during the last circuit, to carry out a touch-and-go followed by an additional circuit. He said that he carried out the final at a speed of 110 km/h, had no memory of the bounces and explained that he had decided to reconfigure the aeroplane and carry out a go-around in order to carry out a final circuit. He did not understand how he had lost control of his aircraft.

2.5 AFIS agent statements

Two AFIS agents were present in the tower during the runway circuits. They stated that the first three circuits appeared to be nominal, but that during the last circuit they noticed that the aeroplane appeared to arrive faster than during the previous circuits. They then observed two bounces of a height they estimated at one metre to one and a half metres, followed by a third bounce during which the aircraft nosed down and at the end of which the nose gear made contact with the ground before the main gear. They declared they then saw the aeroplane deviate from the runway centreline, rise in a right bank, touch down and come to a halt.

2.6 Safety lessons

Touch-and-go landings are manoeuvres included in the private pilot training. They are frequently carried out by licensed pilots who want to carry out a series of landings and take-offs for recurrent training purposes.

Nevertheless, pilots need to be aware of the risks involved in these manoeuvres and define operating margins that take into account the nature and condition of the surface, the length of runway available and any unforeseen circumstances that could disrupt the correct execution of these manoeuvres (long landings, bounces, etc.). Instructors can help them determine these margins.

October 2024

[1] Unpaved runway (1,284 m x 60 m).

[2] Generally called lap belts.

[3] Regulation NCO.IDE.A.140 only imposes a three-point seat belt with a single point release for aeroplanes having a certificate of airworthiness first issued on or after 25 August 2016.