Factual Information
On 19 August 2021, at 14:22 UTC, a Diamond DA 42 aircraft (registration SP-TRL) took off from Warszawa-Babice aerodrome (EPBC) for a visual flight rules training flight as part of multi-engine piston (MEP) training. The crew consisted of an instructor-pilot and a student-pilot. The flight proceeded to Warszawa-Modlin aerodrome (EPMO) to perform exercise No. 6—powerplant failure simulation during aerodrome circuit flights.
Nine take-offs and landings were completed uneventfully. After the ninth landing, the crew stopped the aircraft on the runway and, after a short break, initiated another take-off. During the climb, at an altitude of approximately 500 feet, the instructor-pilot reduced the power of both engines to idle, simulating a powerplant failure. To maintain airspeed, the crew began a descent intending a straight-in landing. The descent was performed with a significant nose-down pitch, resulting in a high-speed touchdown at approximately 16:05 UTC.
Damage to Aircraft
The aircraft was substantially damaged. The landing gear was destroyed: the main landing gear struts broke, and the wheels detached. The nose landing gear strut and its wheel were pressed into the nose landing gear well. As the main landing gear collapsed, the aircraft rested on the lower fuselage, causing the rotating propellers to strike the runway surface. Both three-blade propellers, which had wooden blades, were destroyed. The lower fuselage was also damaged. The wings did not detach but sustained cracks and delamination, especially at the root areas. The horizontal stabilizer leading edge was damaged.
Injuries to Persons
Both crew members—the instructor and the student—were uninjured. No other persons were onboard.
Cause and Contributing Factors
The investigation determined that the accident was caused by: 1) Simulating a dual engine failure just after take-off during the climb, which was inconsistent with Exercise No. 6 of the training program. 2) Insufficient flight altitude at the initiation of the powerplant failure simulation.
A contributing factor was the incorrect estimation of the flight altitude prior to simulating the powerplant failure.
No safety recommendations were proposed by the State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation (PKBWL).