Event
On 20 August 2025 at approximately 15:30 local time, a Diamond DV-20 Katana aircraft registered YR-SCC was involved in an accident at Tuzla Airport (LRTZ) in Constanța County, Romania. The aircraft was conducting a solo training flight with a student pilot practicing circuit patterns. The flight commenced at 15:00 after the student and an instructor prepared the mission together. The student performed a pre-flight inspection, taxied to runway 04, and took off. The first touch-and-go landing was completed normally. During the second circuit, another instructor-student crew preparing for takeoff observed that the nose wheel of the aircraft in flight was missing and informed the control tower. The instructor in the tower alerted the student pilot to a problem with the nose landing gear and began coordinating an emergency landing. After two aborted approaches, on the third approach the aircraft contacted the runway and rolled on the main landing gear for approximately 200 meters. During the roll, the aircraft veered to the right edge of the runway, struck a runway edge marker with the nose gear leg, and came to a stop about 3 meters off the runway on grass. The aircraft came to rest at coordinates 43°59'5.57"N 28°36'17.78"E. The pilot did not require medical attention.
Aircraft and Crew
The aircraft was a Diamond DV-20 Katana, serial number 20123, registered in Romania as YR-SCC. It was owned and operated by S.C. Regional Air Services S.R.L. The aircraft had accumulated 11,485 flight hours. It is a two-seat, fixed tricycle landing gear monoplane made of composite materials with a low wing and T-tail, used primarily for training. The airworthiness documents were valid at the time of the accident.
The pilot was a 32-year-old male student with a valid Class 1/2/LAPL medical certificate and a total flight experience of 64 hours, of which 2 hours were solo. He was performing solo circuit training.
The accident occurred on runway 04/22, which has an asphalt surface 900 meters long and 23 meters wide. The weather at the time, as reported by METAR LRTZ at 11:30 UTC, included wind from 120° at 9 knots, visibility over 10 km, few clouds at 640 feet, temperature 27°C, dew point 3°C, and QNH 1011 hPa.
Investigation
The Romanian Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AIAS) deployed a team to the site. They conducted an initial investigation, collected video and photographic evidence, and gathered preliminary information. As this is a preliminary report, the investigation is ongoing. The probable cause and final conclusions will be published in the final report on the AIAS website.