What happened
On May 11, 2005, a Socata TB 20 Trinidad GT, registration CS-DEE, was performing a solo instructional flight at Évora Aerodrome. The student pilot was conducting circuit training, specifically practicing "touch-and-go" landings. During the penultimate circuit, the aircraft experienced a hard landing; however, the pilot did not observe any abnormal aircraft behavior and subsequently took off again.
During the final circuit, the flight instructor center advised the pilot to perform a full stop instead of a touch-and-go due to deteriorating meteorological conditions. Upon landing, the aircraft was parked. During the after-parking checklist, the pilot discovered that the propeller tips were bent.
The investigation
The GPIAAF investigation established that the aircraft' and pilot's documentation were both valid and up to date. The investigation noted that the wind at the time of the incident was 190 degrees at 10 knots, resulting in a minimal crosswind component of only 2 knots. While the pilot reported a landing speed of 80 knots, the Pilot's Operating Handbook for the Socata TB 20 Trinidad GT specifies a final approach speed between 86 and 92 KIAS.
Findings
- The primary cause of the incident was deficient piloting technique which resulted in a hard landing.
- The impact of the hard landing caused the propeller to strike the ground, leading to the deformation of the propeller tips.
- The deteriorating weather conditions prompted the decision to terminate the training session, but the weather itself was not a contributing factor to the mechanical damage.