Circumstances
On 9 July 2013 at 15:50 local time, a Socata TB20 Trinidad registered F-GTYE operated by a flight school sustained substantial damage during landing at Granville aerodrome (50). The pilot had departed Granville at 14:15 for a flight to Le Havre (76), where he performed two touch-and-goes on runway 04. He then flew back to Granville. Overhead the field, he estimated a left crosswind of about 10 kt and entered the downwind leg for runway 07. On final approach with flaps in landing position and an approach speed of 81 kt, the pilot observed a drift of approximately 8-10°, confirming his wind estimate. During the flare, he felt the aircraft rise due to a wind gust. The aircraft landed hard, bounced twice, and on the third touchdown it veered sharply left, exited the runway, and came to rest about 30 meters from the runway edge. The pilot considered a go-around after the first bounce but, given the low speed and short runway length, decided to continue the landing.
Meteorological Conditions
Weather at Granville, estimated by Météo-France, was wind from 040° at 14 kt gusting to 24 kt, visibility greater than 10 km, clear sky, and temperature 26 °C. At Le Havre, during the touch-and-goes, wind was from 030° at 10 kt with no gusts.
Technical Findings
Examination revealed that an attachment of the right main landing gear had broken and the wheel was misaligned, leading to a loss of lateral control. Friction marks from the propeller on the runway centerline indicated that the propeller contacted the ground during the last touchdown. Inspection of the nose gear showed that the propeller struck the ground after full compression of the nose gear shock absorber.
Pilot Information
The pilot held a private pilot license issued in February 2013 and had accumulated 115 total flight hours, including 21 hours as pilot-in-command. On the TB20, he had 69 hours total, with 15 hours as pilot-in-command. He had encountered strong crosswinds several times during his training.
Conclusion
The accident was probably due to insufficient correction of a wind gust during the flare, leading to a hard landing. Damage to the right main landing gear resulted in loss of control on the ground and runway excursion.