History and Flight
On 9 August 2018, a student pilot, a Greek national born in 1975, was conducting his first solo flight at Bern-Belp Airport (LSZB). He was training for a Private Pilot Licence (PPL(A)). Earlier that morning, he had flown circuits with his instructor, completing three touch-and-go landings and one full-stop landing. Both assessed the training as satisfactory, and the instructor deemed the student ready for his first solo flight, as per the school syllabus.
The student took off in the Aero AT-3 R100 (registration HB-SRB) from runway 14 at 09:29 LT under Visual Flight Rules (VFR). After a normal first circuit, the student initiated the landing approach too high. The aircraft touched down hard on the runway, bounced, and the student initiated a go-around. During the go-around, the aircraft rolled left, entered a steep bank, and struck the ground near taxiway A. It came to rest under the wing of a parked Dornier 328 airliner. The pilot was uninjured. The Aero AT-3 was destroyed, and minor damage was sustained by the parked airliner and the ground due to spilt fuel.
Meteorological Information
Weather at Bern-Belp was fine with light winds. Visibility exceeded 10 km, no clouds, wind 1 kt from variable direction, temperature 21 °C, dew point 16 °C, QNH 1015 hPa.
Aircraft Information
The Aero AT-3 R100 is a single-engine, two-seat, metal-construction aircraft certified under CS-VLA. It was equipped with a Bombardier Rotax 912 S2 engine with a right-turning propeller. Mass and center of gravity were within limits. No pre-existing technical defects were found.
Pilot Information
The pilot was a student with a total of 37:59 flight hours, including 7:50 hours on type. He held no pilot license (student pilot). The 90-day totals were similar. He had 208 total landings and 51 in the last 90 days. No health or fatigue issues were reported.
Sequence of Events
Following the hard touchdown and bounce, the student initiated a go-around. As power was increased, the aircraft yawed left, consistent with the torque effect of a right-turning propeller if uncorrected. The aircraft entered a steep left bank and struck the ground from low altitude. There were no external disturbances such as wake turbulence or obstacles.
Similar Occurrences
A comparable accident occurred on 15 August 2017 at the same airport involving the same aircraft type (STSB Report No. 2372). Such loss-of-control during go-around events are not uncommon in training.
Analysis
Technical examination revealed no pre-existing defects. The hard landing at low speed created a challenging situation for a go-around. After power application, the aircraft's left-turning tendency was not corrected by the pilot. The flight instructor had conducted a check flight prior to the solo, which was appropriate given the student's irregular training progress.
The loss of control resulted from inadequate pilot inputs during and after the go-around initiation.
Findings
- The aircraft was airworthy and within weight/balance limits.
- The student pilot was properly supervised and cleared for solo.
- Weather was not a factor.
- The aircraft touched down hard and bounced, leading to a go-around.
- During the go-around, the pilot lost control, and the aircraft crashed.
Cause
The accident resulted from the pilot losing control of the aircraft during a go-around after a hard landing with bouncing. Contributing to the loss of control was the pilot's insufficient flight practice, which prevented timely correction of the aircraft's attitude.