Incident Overview
On 14 September 2022, a pilot holding a PPL(A) license was conducting training flights on a rented Tecnam P2008 JC, registration SP-SCS, owned by Sky City Sp. z o.o. The pilot planned to practice and improve piloting skills on this aircraft. After ten flights with an instructor on board at the Chojna landing site, the pilot prepared for a solo cross-country flight from Chojna to Świnoujście and back. After refueling and a preflight inspection, the pilot started the engine and taxied to runway 27. Takeoff and climb were normal.
During the return leg, at 18:44 local time, the pilot initiated an approach to land on runway 27. According to the pilot's statement, after flaring at a height of 2 meters and a speed of 62 knots, the aircraft touched down on its main landing gear, followed by a sudden jerk to the left. After the nose gear lowered, the aircraft bounced off the concrete runway surface and veered onto the grassy area to the left of the runway.
Findings
While moving onto the grass, the aircraft struck a plastic barrier designed to prevent vehicle access across the runway. The impact damaged the left stabilizer, the rear fuselage, and the main and nose landing gear. The landing gear damage required replacement of all struts, which was discovered during a verification inspection at the Tecnam production facility in Italy, where subsequent repairs were carried out.
The pilot sustained no injuries. Police administered a breath alcohol test with a negative result. No witnesses to the event were found. The pilot notified emergency services and the aircraft owner. After representatives of Sky City arrived, the pilot mentioned that upon exiting the cockpit, he noticed the parking brake lever was in the middle position (as shown in a photograph). The pilot speculated that this position might have caused the left wheel to brake upon landing, resulting in the leftward pull. However, the aircraft's flight manual states that the middle lever position does not engage the brakes. A functional test on the same aircraft confirmed that the brakes could not activate in that position.
The pilot stated that the flare was performed at 2 meters and 62 knots. That altitude was too high for a proper landing. The pilot's inability to correct the high flare led to a hard landing. The subsequent bounce off the concrete and the damage to all landing gear struts suggest the following sequence: (1) The high flare and ineffective correction (ceasing to pull the control column back) caused the aircraft to drop with high vertical speed (a kangaroo landing). (2) The nose wheel was lowered too quickly after touchdown, resulting from pushing the control column forward immediately after main gear contact. This rapid lowering caused the nose gear strut to rebound strongly, pitching the nose up. Consequently, the wing angle of attack increased substantially, and since the airspeed was still considerable, the aircraft became airborne again and moved to the left grassy area. It cannot be ruled out that the aircraft partially lost directional control before touchdown.
The pilot had a total flight time of 82 hours, including 75 hours on Cessna 172, 2 hours on DA 40D, and only 5 hours on the Tecnam P2008 JC. The pilot's type-specific training consisted of 1 hour 42 minutes during PPL(A) training on 25 May 2022. On the day of the incident, the pilot flew 10 circuits with an instructor (1 hour 36 minutes) and the solo cross-country flight (1 hour 42 minutes), which was the first solo flight on this type.
Cause
The cause of the serious incident was the pilot's improper assessment of the flare height during landing and unskillful correction of this error, which resulted in a hard landing.
Contributing Factor
A contributing factor was the pilot's very limited experience on the Tecnam P2008 JC.
Safety Recommendations
No safety recommendations were formulated.