Introduction
On 26 May 2006, a Tecnam P92 Echo ultralight aircraft, registration CS-UJX, was involved in an accident at Lezíria Aerodrome (Porto Alto) during the landing roll. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but both occupants escaped unharmed.
Flight History
The flight originated from Santa Cruz Aerodrome (Torres Vedras) around 16:50 UTC as a leisure trip with a pilot and one passenger. The flight to Lezíria was uneventful. At approximately 17:15 UTC, the pilot initiated a landing on runway 28.
Landing and Accident
The pilot performed a normal landing without flaps, touching down smoothly on the main wheels at the beginning of the runway. The pilot kept the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible to protect the propeller from stones on the compacted gravel surface. As the aircraft slowed, the pilot noted a tendency to veer right, which increased when the nose wheel contacted the ground. The aircraft suddenly yawed right, struck an iron box used for theodolite calibration, and came to rest in a ditch bordering the runway, suffering substantial damage to the landing gear, propeller, and structure.
Pilot Information
The 54-year-old male pilot held a valid ULM license with 3-axis qualification. He had a total flight experience of 870 hours and 25 minutes, with 21 hours and 35 minutes on type. His medical certificate was valid with a restriction for visual near lenses.
Aircraft Information
The Tecnam P92 Echo was manufactured in 1999 with serial number 416. Its maximum approved weight was 358 kg. The aircraft was equipped with a Rotax 912 engine. The flight manual indicated a maximum demonstrated crosswind of 15 kts and an optimal touchdown speed of 70 km/h.
Meteorological Conditions
At the time of the accident, the wind was from 030° at 10 kts. This resulted in a tailwind component of just over 3 kts and a crosswind component of about 9 kts from the right, as derived from wind component charts.
Conclusions
The investigation established that the pilot and aircraft documentation were valid. The landing was performed without flaps at approximately 70 km/h. The wind conditions included a tailwind component. During the landing roll, the pilot did not apply corrective rudder to counteract the rightward tendency caused by the tailwind component. When the nose wheel touched down, the aircraft yawed right beyond the pilot's ability to control.
Probable Cause
The accident was attributed to loss of control during the landing roll due to deficient piloting technique.