What happened
On August 6, 2015, an Aero Boero AB-115, registration PP-GOB, was conducting a local instructional flight at the Aeródromo Nacional de Aviação (SWNV) in Goiânia, Brazil. The aircraft was occupied by an instructor and a student pilot. During the landing sequence on runway 13, the aircraft experienced a hard touchdown. This impact caused the right main landing gear to fail, leading the aircraft to veer off the right side of the runway. As the aircraft exited the paved surface, it struck a ditch, which resulted in the subsequent failure of the left main landing gear and the nose gear. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but both occupants remained uninjured.
The investigation
The CENIPA investigation focused on the flight maneuvers and the mechanical failure of the landing gear. Investigators reviewed meteorological reports from the nearby Santa Genoveva airport, which indicated calm wind conditions (2/250°) at the time of the accident. The investigation examined the flight path, noting that while the student pilot maintained a stabilized approach, an error occurred during the flare. Visual inspection of the fracture on the right main gear leg revealed characteristic marks of a failure caused by structural overload.
Findings
- The student pilot allowed the aircraft to gain excessive altitude during the flare.
- The subsequent correction made by the student pilot was too wide, resulting in an excessive rate of descent.
- The instructor failed to intervene sufficiently to prevent the hard touchdown.
- The primary cause of the gear failure was an excessive vertical load during landing.
- Contributing factors included errors in pilot judgment, application of control, and the student's lack of experience.