What happened
On November 27, 2012, a Mooney Mk20, registration N305RD, was performing a series of touch-and-go landings on the paved runway 20 at Lille Lesquin aerodrome. The pilot, who was conducting his first solo flight in this specific aircraft type, had been performing several successful circuits prior to the incident. During the final approach of the last circuit, the pilot prepared the aircraft according to manufacturer procedures.
Upon touchdown, the pilot experienced a hard landing that caused the aircraft to bounce. During the subsequent contact with the runway surface, the nose gear struck the pavement, and the propeller made contact with the runway. The aircraft came to a stop approximately 150 meters from the intersection with the parallel taxiway. The pilot was unable to steer the nose gear to vacate the runway and subsequently shut down the engine after requesting assistance from air traffic control. The aircraft was later towed to the hangars.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of the landing and the pilot's management of the aircraft during the bounce. Investigators noted that while the pilot had received training in bounce recovery—specifically regarding maintaining pitch attitude and applying power—he did not intervene with the controls during this specific event. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's flight experience, noting that while he held a PPL(A), his training had primarily been conducted on the DR400, and he had only accumulated 11 hours of flight time on the Mooney Mk20, all of which were performed under dual instruction.
Findings
- The primary cause of the hard landing was insufficient management of flight parameters during the short final approach.
- The damage to the propeller and nose gear was caused by the pilot's failure to manage the aircraft's attitude during the bounce.
- The pilot's limited general flight experience and lack of experience on the specific aircraft type acted as contributing factors to the incident.