What happened
On May 1, 2000, at 18:35, a Centrair 201 B glider, registered F-CBLY, was conducting a training flight at Issoudun aerodrome. The aircraft was operated by a local flying club and was occupied by an instructor and a student pilot.
During the final approach to runway 06, the glider drifted below the nominal glide path. The student pilot, who was in command, failed to deploy the air brakes in a timely manner. Although the instructor intervened to retract the air brakes, the aircraft's landing gear struck an embankment located approximately five meters before the runway threshold. The impact resulted in damage to the fuselage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the flight maneuvers during the final approach and the decision-making of the crew. Investigators examined the flight profiles and the experience levels of both occupants. The instructor was highly experienced with 1,100 total flight hours, while the student pilot had 21 hours of dual instruction and only one hour of experience on this specific aircraft type.
Findings
- The primary cause of the deviation from the glide path was a late correction to the approach path.
- The instructor's intervention to deploy the air brakes occurred too late to prevent the aircraft from descending below the required glide slope.
- The instructor's excessive confidence in the student's progress contributed to the lack of proactive monitoring of the approach parameters.