What happened
On Saturday, May 16, 1998, at 14:10, a Pitts S-2B (registration F-GMCG) was participating in a flight group transit from Coulommiers to Haguenau, with a scheduled stop at Verdun. The aircraft was part of a formation of six planes traveling to an aerial meeting.
Upon arrival at Verdun, the pilot initiated an approach to the paved runway 10. During the approach, the pilot simultaneously monitored the condition of the adjacent grass runway to determine if it could be used by another aircraft in the group. Following this observation, the pilot continued the landing attempt. The aircraft touched down too far along the runway and bounced. In the process of executing a go-around, the aircraft drifted to the right and struck the PAPI (Precision Approach Path Indicator) for runway 2le with the right main landing gear.
Following the impact, the pilot performed a landing on the grass runway. At the time of the incident, the aircraft had nearly exhausted its fuel supply. Emergency services were alerted and present on-site.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events during the approach and the subsequent go-around maneuver. Investigators examined the aircraft's flight path, the environmental conditions, and the pilot's actions during the approach to runway 10.
Findings
- The aircraft sustained damage to the right main landing gear and the lower right wing.
- The PAPI installation for runway 28 was heavily damaged.
- The primary cause of the accident was distraction/loss of attention as the pilot was monitoring the grass runway condition while simultaneously managing the approach to the paved runway.