What happened
On Monday, March 27, 2000, at 08:00, a SOCATA TB 9, registration F-GGIU, was performing its first solo flight at the Saint-Pierre Pierref onds aerodrome. The aircraft was operated by a flying club and was being piloted by a trainee with approximately 73 flight hours. Following a dual-instruction flight, an instructor had determined the trainee was ready to fly alone. After completing a circuit, the trainee approached the runway on final approach.
During the approach, the instructor observed the aircraft pitching nose-down. The pilot failed to perform the flare, resulting in a high-speed impact with the runway midpoint, striking the nose gear first followed by the main landing gear. The aircraft then bounced with a high pitch-up attitude. After the pilot corrected the controls, the aircraft struck the runway again on the nose gear and bounced a second time while tilting to the right. Following a third bounce, the aircraft finally stabilized on the runway. The aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of the landing and the pilot's handling of the aircraft during the final approach. The investigation established that the trainee had completed his training under four different instructors, the most recent of whom had authorized the solo flight after several satisfactory sessions. Meteorological conditions at the time of the accident were reported as CAVOK with calm winds.