Flight History
On the morning of 3 October 2018, a pilot and member of Aero Clube de Portugal (AeCP) traveled to Cascais Aerodrome (LPCS) with the intent of flying with an instructor to regain piloting proficiency as a private pilot. Upon arrival, a school employee, also a private pilot, informed the member that no instructors were available but offered to fly with him and assist in flight preparation and execution.
After agreeing to the joint flight, they conducted a briefing. The member pilot noted that on his last solo flight he had difficulty landing and would need help in that phase. It was decided that the member would be the pilot in command (PIC) and the employee would act as safety pilot (SP) on a flight to Santa Cruz (LPSC) to practice touch-and-go landings and then return to Cascais.
Meteorological conditions and NOTAMs were checked; nothing significant was noted for the route or destination. Lacking official weather information for Santa Cruz, the pilots planned to assess local conditions by overflying the airfield and checking the windsock to choose the runway.
The SP handled administrative tasks, filing a flight plan as a training flight under call sign CLP246 and listing himself as PIC. The aircraft was fueled with 65 liters, providing an estimated endurance of 2 hours 30 minutes.
After takeoff from Cascais, the PIC made a 30-degree bank turn before the runway end, a maneuver the SP commented on, along with other aspects of the flight. The flight continued toward Cabo da Roca at 1,000 feet, then climbed to 1,500 feet for the destination.
At 2 nautical miles from Santa Cruz, the pilots made a blind transmission on the local frequency reporting their position and intention to overfly the aerodrome and join the runway 35 circuit without landing. They saw the windsock was down, indicating no wind, confirming their expectation that runway 35 was in use.
Approach and Landing Difficulties
The pilots proceeded to a left circuit for runway 35. The SP reported that the PIC did not demonstrate proficiency in the standard circuit, leading to discontinuation of the first approach, which was performed without proper preparation or aircraft configuration.
During the climb for a second circuit, the SP instructed the PIC not to overfly the town of Santa Cruz. At 300 feet above ground level, the aircraft began a left climbing turn to 900 feet AGL, aiming to provide a longer circuit with time for procedures.
The SP commented on flight techniques, including engine power usage to maintain approach speed. Later, to avoid disturbing the PIC, the SP only alerted on essential actions. They agreed to perform a long final approach with full flaps configuration followed by a touch-and-go.
The aircraft was configured with full flaps. During the final approach, the aircraft remained below the estimated visual glide path, prompting the SP to intervene verbally as the runway touchdown point was becoming obscured. With an unstable approach and after crossing the runway 35 threshold flying level above the runway, the SP suggested a full stop landing instead of a touch-and-go, as he calculated insufficient remaining runway length for a go-around, citing alleged obstacles on the runway heading 350 meters from the runway 17 threshold.
The PIC confirmed the flare was longer than usual and he had difficulty controlling the aircraft during the flare until nearly half the available runway length was used. Committed to a full stop landing, the PIC forced the landing and flared again.
Runway Excursion
The aircraft touched down in the final third of the runway, 99 meters before the end. A confused process began between the occupants over who had authority and positive control of the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently left the runway and struck the airfield fence.
Aftermath
Both occupants reported no injuries. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, and the airfield fence was damaged.