Accident to the Siai Marchetti S205 registered F-BTAN on 05/03/2023 at Nîmes

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 the pilot’s statement. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

After carrying out two aerodrome circuits, the pilot took off from runway 36 at Nîmes-Courbessac airport for a third runway circuit. He configured the aeroplane for landing while on the downwind leg. During the final approach, he thought that the speed was too low and adjusted the engine power. He extended the flaps to the second detent position. During the flare, he realised that he had forgotten to extend the landing gear. He tried to stop the engine by pulling the mixture control and by pushing the throttle control. The aeroplane touched down on the runway with the landing gear retracted and the engine running, and then came to rest on the runway.

2. Additional information

On the day of the accident, the 66-year-old pilot held an aeroplane private pilot licence obtained in July 2019. He had logged 150 flight hours, including 43 hours on type. He had not flown in the previous 90 days.

He was co-owner of the aeroplane since June 2020.

The pilot indicated that not having flown recently, he had reread the procedures and checklists before take-off to remind himself of the actions. He added that he had carried out the "landing" checklist from memory. The checklist was on the passenger seat, but he did not read it. He specified that the landing gear not down aural warning is only activated when the engine speed is below 1,500 rpm. It therefore had not sounded.

He thinks it would have been more reasonable not to have performed this flight alone after not having flown recently.