What happened
The aircraft experienced significant issues during the landing phase of flight. Upon initial touchdown, the plane ballooned, meaning it skipped or bounced along the surface rather than settling immediately onto the wheels. Following this bounce, the aircraft came down hard and subsequently drifted laterally toward the side of the runway.
During this uncontrolled drift, the aircraft made ground contact with a drainage area adjacent to the paved surface before finally coming to a complete stop. The pilot reported that he had been high on his approach and had deployed full flaps in an attempt to correct the situation. However, the aircraft was not properly aligned with the runway centerline prior to the bounce, which contributed to the loss of directional control.
The investigation
Examination of the event revealed that the primary issue stemmed from improper alignment during the final approach and landing sequence. The pilot's admission of being high on approach indicates a failure to maintain the correct glide path, leading to a float or balloon effect upon touchdown. The lack of proper alignment with the runway centerline exacerbated the situation, causing the aircraft to drift off the usable pavement.
Findings
The investigation identified several key factors contributing to the incident:
- Improper alignment with the runway centerline prior to touchdown.
- High approach, leading to a ballooning effect upon landing.
- Hard landing following the initial bounce.
- Drift off the runway into a drainage area due to loss of directional control.
These factors combined resulted in the aircraft leaving the runway surface and sustaining damage from ground contact with the drainage infrastructure.