What happened
On February 21, 2020, an Airbus A320-232 operating a scheduled passenger service from Santiago (SCEL) to Puerto Montt (SCTE) experienced a severe hard landing on runway 17. The flight was also serving as an instructional session, with a captain acting as Pilot Monitoring, a student pilot acting as Pilot Flying, and an instructor evaluator observing from the cockpit.
During the final approach, the aircraft's descent rate increased, reaching 900 feet per minute just above the runway threshold. The student pilot failed to execute an adequate flare maneuver, leading to a high-impact contact with the pavement. While all 172 passengers and 7 crew members escaped without injury, the impact caused significant damage to the aircraft's main landing gear, necessitating the replacement of both shock absorbers, sliding tubes, and main fittings.
The investigation
DGAC Chile examined flight data from the Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR), as well as instructional records and airport security footage. The investigation focused on the flight crew's performance during the manual phase of the approach after the autopilot was disconnected at 980 feet. Investigators also reviewed the student pilot's training folder, which contained previous notes regarding difficulties with flare technique, descent rates, and PAPI light monitoring.
Findings
- The student pilot experienced a loss of situational awareness while focusing excessively on maintaining the correct glide path relative to the PAPI lights.
- The flight crew's approach briefing was incomplete, omitting five essential items from the Flight Crew Techniques Manual (FCTM), including a review of meteorological conditions.
- The captain and the instructor evaluator failed to provide timely interventions or verbal callouts to correct the increasing descent rate or the improper flare.
- High ambient temperatures at the time of arrival likely contributed to atmospheric instability, complicating the manual control of the aircraft.
- The student pilot had a documented history of instructional feedback regarding the need to improve flare execution and descent rate management.
Safety action
Following the investigation, the following safety considerations were identified for the operator:
- Reviewing the assignment of roles when captains without instructor ratings are supervising student pilots to ensure effective oversight.
- Reinforcing the necessity of strict adherence to flight crew briefing checklists.
- Implementing or reinforcing standardized landing callouts to ensure the monitoring pilot can intervene during unstable approaches.
- Enhancing training regarding situational awareness and managing descent rates during manual landings.