What happened
On June 3, 2011, a Piper PA28-181, registration F-GHYX, was conducting a flight training mission involving an instructor, a student pilot, and two passengers. During a touch-and-go maneuver on runway 07 at Granville Aerodrome, the aircraft experienced a hard landing. While the aircraft was climbing, the AFIS agent notified the crew that the right main landing gear leg appeared damaged and was moving, though still attached to the wing.
The instructor elected to proceed to the aircraft's home base at Rennes Aerodrome. During the flight, the crew requested assistance from ground fire services and permission for a low pass to inspect the gear. During this reconnaissance, assisted by a Gendarmerie helicopter, the crew discovered that the right main landing gear had completely separated from the aircraft. The aircraft subsequently landed on runway 32 at Rennes, where it came to a stop on the runway, resting on its right wing. There were no injuries to the four occupants, though the aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the structural failure of the landing gear and the sequence of events leading to the separation. Investigators located the detached right main landing gear approximately ten kilometers north of Rennes Aerodrome. Examination of the component revealed multiple fracture surfaces consistent with a sudden failure due to structural overload. No evidence of pre-existing damage was found on the inspected surfaces.
Data from the flight indicated that the aircraft was operating at a mass approximately 100 kg below the maximum allowable weight, with roughly 100 liters of fuel remaining. Meteorological conditions at the time of the initial landing at Granville included moderate turbulence and wind gusts of up to 30 knots. The instructor noted that the landing at Granville was likely hard and that the aircraft was not aligned with the runway centerline at touchdown.
Findings
- The separation of the right main landing gear was caused by the high-impact landing at Granville.
- The failure was driven by excessive lateral and vertical forces applied to the gear during touchdown, likely exacerbated by the aircraft's mass being near its maximum limit and the presence of turbulent wind gusts.
- The crew's risk assessment focused on the difficulties of landing with a damaged gear rather than the potential for total gear separation, as the initial report from the ground agent was not sufficiently detailed to prompt such a contingency plan.