What happened
On April 24, 2013, a Robin DR400-160, registration F-GSRI, was conducting a flight between Albert and Dinard, with a planned overflight of Mont-Saint-Michel. During the flight, the pilot suspected an alternator failure and diverted to Caen, where a mechanic inspected the electrical system and found no issues.
Due to delays, the pilot decided to divert to Granville instead of Dinard. While on final approach to runway 25, the pilot observed an aircraft stationary at a holding point and mistakenly believed it was in motion. In an attempt to correct this, the pilot increased power and flared the aircraft. This maneuver destabilized the approach, resulting in a long, high-speed landing. The aircraft touched down near the center of the runway, where it bounced three to four times before the nose gear collapsed into a dive.
Immediately following the landing, the pilot reported a hard landing via radio. Although the pilot noted the aircraft felt difficult to steer during the taxi back to the hangar, they did not request a mechanical inspection, only informing the aero club president by telephone. The pilot then completed a return flight to Albert.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the impact and the subsequent failure to identify structural damage. Investigators examined radio communications, which confirmed that the pilot of the stationary aircraft noted the high speed of the landing.
Two days after the incident, an instructor performing a pre-flight inspection discovered that the nose gear was destroyed and both main gears were deformed. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's recent flight history, noting very low recent experience, and examined the maintenance records and the pilot's failure to document the flight details and the handling difficulties in the logbook.