Incident
On 8 January 2023, at 12:52 UTC, a Tecnam P2010 aircraft veered off runway 29 at Antwerp/Deurne Airport (EBAW) during landing. The aircraft departed the runway on the south side, just past taxiway G, and came to rest 5 meters further on soft grass. The pilot and three passengers vacated the aircraft uninjured. The aircraft sustained no damage.
Flight Details
The flight originated from Hasselt/Kiewit Aerodrome (EBZH) at 12:27 UTC as a non-commercial cross-country operation. The planned destination was Antwerp/Deurne Airport. The purpose of the flight was to visit an open house of a local flight training organisation. The pilot had delayed the flight from the morning to the afternoon due to rainy conditions.
Meteorological Information
At the time of landing, the wind was reported as 190° at 15 knots, gusting 22 knots. The METAR issued at 12:50 UTC (EBAW 081250Z 19015KT 9999 SCT025 10/04 Q0999 NOSIG) did not mention gusts, but the ATIS information Papa, issued at 12:50 UTC, indicated wind 180°/15 kt with minimum 7 kt and maximum 22 kt. During landing clearance, the air traffic control provider (Skeyes) informed the pilot of the gusting peak of 22 knots twice: on base leg turning to final at 12:50:26 and in short final at 12:51:25. According to the pilot, he only learned of the gusting factor after the incident. He had checked the METAR at 11:50 UTC, which gave wind 200°/13 kt. The TAF valid for the period indicated temporary gusts of 25 kt between 14:00 and 16:00 UTC.
Measured wind data from the airport (not available to the flight crew) showed 10-minute average wind speeds around 14-15 knots with gusts up to 22-25 knots during the landing period.
Pilot Information
The pilot was 35 years old, held a Private Pilot License (PPL(A)) issued on 24 August 2022, and had a valid Class 2 medical certificate. Total flying experience was 116:32 hours, all as pilot-in-command on Tecnam P2008 and P2010 aircraft. In the last 90 days, the pilot had flown 6:06 hours (including the incident flight), and in the last 28 days, 1:30 hours (including the incident flight).
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Tecnam P2010 built in 2015, with a maximum takeoff weight of 1160 kg. It was registered in Belgium. The airframe had accumulated 1148 total hours. The engine was a Lycoming IO-360 horizontally opposed 4-cylinder engine, and the propeller was an MT-Propeller MTV-12-B/183-59B three-blade composite constant-speed propeller. The last Airworthiness Review Certificate was issued on 23 June 2022.
Investigation Findings
The Belgian Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU(Be)) conducted a data-collection only investigation. The following safety topics were identified:
- Human: Decision making/judgment, expectation/assumption (underestimation of weather conditions), and task performance (aircraft control).
- Environmental: Wind – crosswind effect on operation, wind – gust effect on operation.
No organisational, technical, or operational findings were determined.
The report noted that the pilot reported the wind prevented him from adjusting his steering, resulting in the veer-off. The maximum demonstrated crosswind for the Tecnam P2010 is 12 knots, as published in the Aircraft Flight Manual, but this is not an operational limitation. The report reminded that gusts are only reported in METAR when the maximum wind speed exceeds the average by 10 knots during the 10-minute interval, so absence of gust reporting does not guarantee no gusts.
All occupants wore 4-point upper torso restraints.