Unstable Approach and Bounce Lead to Front Landing Gear Failure at Lognes Emerainville (F-HDMV)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On July 30, 2015, at 12:48 local time, a Tecnam P2008 aircraft registered F-HDMV was involved in an accident at the Lognes Emerainville aerodrome in France. The aircraft was operated by a club for a personal convenience local flight. The pilot took off from paved runway 26 at 12:23 to perform aerodrome circuits. During the first approach, the pilot reported turbulence while overflying hangars located under the short final and aborted the approach due to instability. The pilot then completed two touch-and-go landings. ## Accident Sequence and Recorded Data During the fourth circuit, the aircraft bounced upon landing. The pilot attempted a go-around, but the aircraft touched the runway a second time, resulting in the rupture of the front landing gear. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway. The aircraft was equipped with Garmin G3X glass cockpit displays that recorded 56 parameters every second. Data from the fourth approach indicated that the indicated airspeed decreased to approximately 58 kt during the final approach. At about 100 ft, the speed abruptly increased to 69 kt. The aircraft touched down in a three-point configuration at a speed slightly above 60 kt and bounced. The recorded wind direction experienced by the aircraft varied from 310° at the beginning of the final to 200° on the short final. ## Aircraft Examination and Aerodrome Characteristics The examination of the aircraft revealed that the flaps were in the landing position and the trim was set near the takeoff position. The front landing gear failed due to overload, though it could not be determined whether the failure occurred during the first or second ground contact. The Lognes Emerainville aerodrome features two parallel runways: a 700 m paved runway and a 1,100 m unpaved runway. The VAC chart notes a risk of turbulence on final approach to runway 26 due to the presence of hangars. ## Pilot Background and Contributing Factors The pilot held a private pilot license since July 2013 and had a total of 86 flight hours, including 18 hours as pilot-in-command. She had 15 hours on the P2008, all within the three months preceding the accident. The pilot had not flown between obtaining her license and May 2015. During the fourth approach, another aircraft was on final for the parallel paved runway. The pilot stated she was concerned about maintaining separation from the parallel aircraft and whether to perform a touch-and-go or a full stop. The BEA concluded that the pilot likely did not identify the approach destabilization on the fourth circuit due to this distraction. ## Conclusion The accident was caused by the continuation of an unstable approach. The destabilization was likely due to turbulence from the hangars and rapid wind direction changes during the final approach. The excess energy from the unstable approach led to the bounce and subsequent landing gear failure.