What happened
On May 25, 2008, a Robin DR 250-160, registered F-GBMP, was performing a local flight at Nevers aerodrome. While returning to the airfield, the pilot positioned the aircraft in a downwind pattern behind another aircraft, announcing an intention to perform a touch-and-go landing on runway 12.
During the landing roll, the aircraft initially experienced a slight yaw to the right and then to the left. Although the pilot attempted to correct these oscillations using the rudder to maintain the runway centerline, the aircraft subsequently veered sharply to the right. The pilot was unable to regain directional control, causing the aircraft to skid across the paved runway. This maneuver resulted in the collapse of both the left and right landing gear, and the aircraft came to a stop mid-runway. There were no fatalities among the four persons on board, but the aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's flight experience and the handling characteristics of the aircraft. The pilot held a CPL(A) IR and FI(A) issued in the United Kingdom, with a total of 5,203 flight hours. However, the investigation established that the pilot had very limited experience with conventional gear (taildragger) aircraft.
Records showed that the pilot's first flight in a taildragger occurred in June 2002. Since then, the pilot had accumulated only 12 total hours on conventional gear aircraft, with approximately 10 of those hours served as pilot-in-command between 2002 and 2003. Prior to this accident, the pilot had only one hour of flight time on this specific model within the preceding 30 days.