Cessna C152T CS-AUJ Incident at Covilhã Aerodrome

Incident Overview and Flight History On 20 October 2007, a Cessna C152T with registration CS-AUJ, operated by Escola de Aviação Aerocondor, departed Aeródromo Municipal de Cascais – Tires for an instructional cross-country flight to Aeródromo Municipal da Covilhã under visual flight rules. The aircraft carried a pilot-instructor and a student pilot. While over the destination aerodrome, the instructor directed the student to perform a simulated forced landing on runway 06 following a hypothetical total engine failure. The maneuver resulted in a high approach, and the pilot reduced airspeed to the minimum Vref to lose altitude, selected full flaps, and slightly lost alignment with the runway. The pilot then initiated a series of go-around turns to lose additional altitude. ## Impact and Damage At 15:30 UTC, the aircraft contacted the runway surface first with the right wheel and wing, followed by the nose striking the ground. The aircraft came to rest with the nose and right wing on the asphalt, positioned slightly left of the runway centerline at a 45-degree angle to the runway axis. The aircraft sustained moderate damage, including a nose gear bent backward, folded propeller blade tips, and abrasion damage to the right wingtip skin. Light grooves were left on the runway surface from the dragging of the nose gear. ## Personnel and Investigation Both the pilot-instructor and the student pilot abandoned the aircraft uninjured. The Portuguese accident investigation authority, GPIAA, was notified by the operator, the PSP, and the aerodrome director's representative at 15:52, 16:00, and 16:15 UTC, respectively. The investigation concluded that the incident resulted from the pilot's loss of control during a simulated forced landing maneuver at low altitude, where the pilot reported experiencing turbulence. The report was issued under Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention and applicable EU directives, with the sole objective of determining causes and formulating safety recommendations to prevent recurrence.