What happened
On October 19, 2010, an Aero Boero AB-115, registration PP-GNY, was conducting a commercial pilot training flight from Ponta Grossa to the Max Fontoura Aerodrome in Campo Largo, Brazil. During the landing phase, the flight crew performed a touch-and-go maneuver. As the aircraft was in the process of a go-around, the instructor decided to abort the maneuver while the aircraft was still on the ground. Upon applying the brakes, the aircraft entered a ground loop, resulting in the aircraft overturning. The aircraft sustained severe damage to the fuselage, wings, engine, and propeller, but both the instructor and the student pilot were uninjured.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation focused on the sequence of events during the landing and the operational environment of the Aeroclube de Pontal Grossa. Investigators examined the aircraft's maintenance records, which showed the plane had undergone a 50-hour inspection shortly before the accident. The investigation also reviewed the student's training records, which revealed a pattern of unstable approaches, specifically noting that the student frequently arrived too high and too fast on the final approach. Furthermore, the investigation looked into the flight school's management, finding that the Director of Instruction was not adequately supervising instructor and student performance, and that flight training logs lacked detailed qualitative assessments.
Findings
- The crew performed an unstable approach prior to the landing.
- The instructor made a poor judgment decision by authorizing the student to proceed with an unstable approach and subsequently deciding to abort the go-around on the ground, despite having sufficient runway to execute a safe climb-out.
- The instructor likely applied excessive braking pressure due to concerns about stopping within the remaining runway distance.
- There was a lack of standardized instruction regarding stabilized approaches within the flight school.
- Organizational deficiencies included inadequate supervision of flight instruction and a lack of standardized procedures for documenting student progress.