What happened
On March 12, 2025, a Tecnam P2002-JF, registration F-HTPS, was involved in two separate incidents near Brest Bretagne airport. The day began when a pilot identified a faulty fuel gauge during a pre-flight inspection. Because the error was not recorded in the flight logbook and the keys were left available, a subsequent pilot took the aircraft for a flight without realizing the technical discrepancy. During a low-altitude circuit, the engine failed due to fuel exhaustion, forcing the pilot to perform an emergency landing in a nearby grass field. The aircraft sustained no damage during this landing.
Later that evening, seeking to return the aircraft to the airport before nightfall, the operator decided to take off from the same field. Although a prefectural order had authorized the departure, the pilot encountered significant difficulty during the takeoff run. As the aircraft accelerated, the uneven, wet ground caused the acceleration to drop sharply once the speed reached 35 knots. With the rotation speed set at 45 knots, the pilot realized the aircraft would not clear the southern boundary of the field. Deciding not to abort the run, the pilot continued the takeoff, at which point the main landing gear struck a fence wire. The pilot then proceeded to land safely at Brest Bretagne airport.
The investigation
The BEA examined the sequence of events leading from the initial fuel gauge fault to the collision. The investigation focused on the decision-making process regarding the takeoff from the unpaved field and the accuracy of the performance calculations used to justify the departure. Investigators reviewed the application of a 1.3 correction factor, which had been borrowed from commercial operation standards for wet grass runways, to estimate the required takeoff distance on the uneven field surface.