What happened
On 19 August 2021, a Diamond DA 42, registration SP-TRL, was conducting multi-engine piston (MEP) training at Warsaw-Modlin Airport (EPMO). The flight crew, consisting of an instructor and a student pilot, had successfully completed nine training circuits. Following a brief pause on the runway, the crew initiated another takeoff to perform a specific emergency simulation.
During the climb phase, at an altitude of approximately 500 feet, the instructor simulated a total powerplant failure by reducing the power of both engines to idle. To maintain airspeed during this maneuver, the crew began a descent with the intention of performing a straight-in landing. However, the descent was executed with a significant nose-down pitch. This resulted in a high-speed touchdown on the runway. The impact caused the main landing gear struts to break and the wheels to detach, causing the aircraft to settle on its fuselage. The resulting contact between the propellers and the runway surface destroyed the three-blade propellers and caused substantial damage to the airframe, including the nose landing gear, wings, and empennage.
The investigation
The PKBWL investigation examined the flight history, the training program, and the crew's operational status. Investigators reviewed the instructor's flight logs and found that the instructor's rest period between operations on 18 August and 19 August was only 11 hours and 42 minutes, which was below the required 12-hour minimum. The investigation also reviewed the MEP(L) training program to determine if the maneuvers performed were within the approved scope of the exercise.