What happened
On 18 November 2019, during a training flight at Tököl Airport (LHTL), a student pilot was performing his first solo flight in an Aero AT-3, registration HA-tBHL. After completing the first lap of a traffic pattern, the pilot attempted a touch-and-go maneuver. During the initial climb phase, the aircraft entered an unusually steep climb and banked sharply to the left. The left wing subsequently struck the ground, causing the aircraft to skid and impact the terrain with the nose and right main landing gear. The aircraft sustained damage beyond repair, including broken propeller blades, a collapsed nose gear, and severe deformation of the wing structure. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The Transportation Safety Bureau (TSB) investigation examined the student pilot's training history, the aircraft's maintenance records, and meteorological data. Investigators reviewed the flight school's training manual and the student's logbook, which revealed that the student had been flying for three consecutive days at a less familiar airport. The investigation also analyzed engine performance data, which showed an abnormal RPM fluctuation during the final moments of the flight, suggesting a sudden thrust increase by the pilot.
Findings
- The direct cause of the accident was attributed to human factors related to the student pilot, specifically reduced performance due to mental strain.
- The student pilot was experiencing significant exhaustion and mental overload, having already reached the maximum permitted daily flying time through multiple intensive training tasks.
- The student's focus on lift-off speed rather than the required climb speed likely contributed to the loss of airspeed.
- Increasing wind speeds and gusts of up to 18 knots exceeded the maximum allowable crosswind component prescribed by the training organization's manual.
- The flight instructor failed to sufficiently monitor the increasing wind conditions and allowed the solo flight to proceed despite the student's fatigue and the approaching weather limits.