Accident to the Robin DR400 - 180 registered F-GORD on 02/06/2019 at Lognes Emerainville (Seine-et-Marne)

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 March 2021. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference.

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.

1 - HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT

The pilot, accompanied by two passengers, took off from paved runway 26 of Lognes Emerainville aerodrome. During the take-off run, the plane deviated to the left and veered off the runway into the grass. While the pilot made inputs to regain control, the plane took off and entered a high nose-up attitude while banking to the right. The right wingtip touched the ground. The plane entered a nose-down attitude and made a ground loop to the left. It stopped on the edge of the runway. The pilot and passengers evacuated the aeroplane, the engine caught fire.

2 - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The weather conditions provided on the ATIS message at the time of the take-off were as follows: wind from 210° at 11 kt, gusting to 19 kt, visibility greater than 10 km,
temperature 30 °C.

The 60-year-old pilot held an aeroplane private pilot license PPL(A) issued in August 2009. He had logged 226 flight hours, including 4 h 30 min on type and 3 h 30 min in the previous three months.

The pilot indicated that when he requested clearance to line up, the controller asked him if he was ready for an immediate take-off due to the arrival of an aeroplane on final approach for runway 26. He agreed and thought in hindsight that this may have been stressful for him.

The pilot stated that he was aware that there was a crosswind coming from the left and that he decided to take off by keeping the stick to the left and applying right rudder input. While he was checking that his airspeed indicator was on during the take-off run, at a speed of about 40 kt, the aeroplane deviated to the left. He thought that he had probably relaxed his action on the rudder pedals during this check. He tried to counter the veer by applying more right rudder input and then pulled back on the stick slightly to take weight off the nose gear. This action caused the aeroplane to take off. The pilot then rejected the take-off by reducing power but was unable to regain control of the aeroplane.