Accident to the Robin DR400 registered F-GTPE on 09/04/2023 at Laon

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

The pilot took off from Amiens-Glisy aerodrome at around 16:00 bound for Laon-Chambry aerodrome. Shortly before passing overhead the aerodrome, he heard on the radio that an aeroplane was taking off from runway 05[1]. As the aeroplane passed overhead the aerodrome, the pilot noted a light north-easterly wind and decided to join the circuit for
runway 05. 

The pilot indicated that he configured the aeroplane for landing and carried out a stabilised final approach at around 130 km/h. He noticed that the speed decreased to 115 km/h and increased the engine speed to around 1,900 rpm. The speed gradually increased. The pilot indicated that on short final he then focused on piloting at the expense of monitoring the speed.

On touchdown, the aeroplane bounced several times. On the third bounce, the nose gear broke, the propeller touched the ground and twisted. The aeroplane came to rest on the runway and the impact triggered the emergency locator transmitter. The pilot managed to exit the aeroplane.

2. Additional information

2.1 Meteorological information

The METAR for Reims-Prunay aerodrome, 57 km away, gave the following weather conditions at the time of the accident:

• Wind from 080° of 5 kt
• CAVOK.

2.2 Pilot information

The 71-year-old pilot held an aeroplane private pilot licence. On the day of the accident, he had logged approximately 690 flight hours, including 560 hours as pilot-in-command. He had totalled approximately 660 flight hours on the Robin DR400. He had carried out his previous flight with a DR400 two and a half months before the accident.

2.3 Pilot’s statement

The pilot indicated that he had planned to perform runway circuits at Amiens aerodrome before starting his cross-country flight, in order to "find his bearings" in terms of flying. He explained that he then changed his plan, given the aerodrome traffic at Amiens-Glisy, and went directly to Laon-Chambry.

 He had not landed at Laon-Chambry for around 15 years. When preparing the flight, he had planned to use runway 17 on arrival. He finally chose to use runway 05, given the wind and aerodrome traffic. He said that he felt "tense" on the final approach, as he had no recent experience of the aerodrome and was concerned about the shorter landing distance on runway 05[2].