What happened
On the evening of August 13, 1998, a SOCATA MS 880 B Rallye, registered F-BXTJ, was performing a local flight at Beauvoir aerodrome. The pilot was attempting to land on runway 28, which is an unpaved strip measuring 30 meters in width with 800 meters of available landing distance.
During the initial approach, the pilot encountered significant difficulty locating the runway threshold due to the low angle of the sun. To establish better visual references, the pilot executed a go-around. On the second approach, the aircraft touched down approximately 100 meters past the threshold, but the landing position was 3/5 meters outside the left edge of the runway. As the aircraft continued its ground roll, it crossed a drainage ditch after traveling about 160 meters. The aircraft eventually came to a stop in a parallel ditch located 13 meters from the runway.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the environmental conditions and the pilot's decision-making during the approach. Investigators noted that at the time of the accident (20:50 local time), the sun was at an azimuth of 286 degrees, which placed it directly in the pilot's line of sight during the approach to runway 28. The pilot, who had recently obtained their license and possessed 90 total flight hours, was operating in CAVOK conditions with light winds.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was the insufficient consideration of landing conditions, specifically the visual impairment caused by the low sun angle.
- The aircraft, F-BXTJ, sustained heavy damage during the excursion.
- The pilot's decision to perform a go-around was an appropriate response to the lack of visual references, yet the subsequent landing attempt failed to maintain the aircraft within the runway boundaries.