Accident to the Robin HR200 - 120B registered F-GTZE on 30/07/2020 at Lille-Lesquin (Nord)

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 July 2021. 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. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA

1 - HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT

The pilot, the only person on board, took off at 08:10 from runway 01[1] and carried out a series of aerodrome circuit exercises.
During the first left hand circuit, after he had checked in on the downwind leg, the pilot was cleared by the ATC to carry out a touch-and-go. The pilot read back but the controller repeated the clearance several times. The pilot realized that his VHF radio had a transmission problem and decided to continue the landing.
During the touchdown, the aeroplane bounced. The pilot did not attempt to go around or adjust the power. After two more bounces, the nose gear strut collapsed. The propeller struck the ground and a blade broke. The aeroplane slid and then came to a stop on its nose about 150 m from the first contact with the runway. The pilot shut off the fuel supply, cut off the battery and then evacuated the aeroplane.
He specified that, because of the radio transmission problem he had encountered, he wanted to perform a full stop landing.

2 - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
2.1 Weather information

The Lille-Lesquin 06:00 UTC automatic METAR gave the following information:

• ceiling and visibility CAVOK;
• wind of variable direction of 3 kt;
• temperature 16 °C, dew point 10 °C.

The 06:30 UTC report gave the following information:

• ceiling and visibility CAVOK;
• wind from 110° of 4 kt;
• temperature 17 °C, dew point 11 °C.

2.2 Pilot information

The 56-year-old pilot held a PPL(A) issued in July 2019. The day of the accident, he had logged about 94 flight hours of which 89 hours on the HR200 type and 17 solo flight hours, all on this type. Within the three months preceding the accident, he had logged one hour and ten minutes of flight, solely on the HR200 and none within the last thirty days.

2.3 Pilot’s statement

The pilot explained that he read back the clearance he had received from the aerodrome ATC at the beginning of the final. It was only when he received this clearance several times that he understood he had a problem with the transmission of messages. He was not able to affirm that the radio transmission indicator was operational. He added that this failure distracted him from the management of the flight parameters to the point that he was not able to specify what his airspeed was on final.

On analysing this occurrence, the pilot concluded that he should have:

• either carried out a go-around as soon as he detected the failure;
• or concentrated on the landing without trying to read back.

Lastly, he mentioned the prioritization of the essential tasks in flight: “1 piloting, 2 navigating, 3 communicating” [2], which was not a reflex for him. He had no recollection that this point was discussed during his training. He specified that he had had seven different instructors.
Radio failure in flights under VFR is discussed in a document[3]  published by the DGAC in collaboration with the CNFAS. Squawking 7600 informs the ATC of a radio failure. Specific instructions may exist and be described in the aerodrome VAC chart, as for Lille-Lesquin.