What happened
On June 10, 2017, at approximately 13:00 LMT, a Cessna 172S, registration SP-MMC, was performing a landing at Warsaw-Babice airport [EPBC] following a recreational flight with three passengers. While the aircraft was in the landing roll on the grass runway 28, an unexpected thermal gust caused the aircraft to tilt onto its left wing. This resulted in a heavy, hard landing on the left main landing gear.
Due to the aircraft's aerodynamic configuration and available engine power at that phase of flight, the pilot was unable to prevent the impact. After coming to a stop, the pilot taxied the aircraft toward the IBEX hangars. Approximately 25 meters from the concrete apron, the left main landing gear strut fractured near its attachment point to the fuselage. The aircraft subsequently rested on the ground supported by the left wingtip and the left side of the horizontal stabilizer, which caused the left horizontal stabilizer and the left elevator segment to bend and break.
The investigation
The investigation was initially conducted by the aircraft operator. However, upon reviewing the operator's report and the extent of the structural damage, the PKBWL reclassified the event from an incident to an accident.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was a hard landing caused by an unexpected asymmetric thermal gust during the landing roll.
- Local atmospheric conditions contributed to the occurrence of the thermal gust.
- There were no injuries to the pilot or the passengers.