What happened
On March 24, 2014, a student pilot was conducting a solo circuit training flight at the Epinal Dogneville aerodrome. The flight followed a two-hour navigation session that included stops at Dole and Epinal Mirecourt. After the instructor authorized the student to perform solo circuits on runway 02, the pilot completed an initial landing with a stabilized approach. During this first landing, the pilot noted that despite maintaining back pressure on the controls, the aircraft failed to decelerate, leading to a go-around where the nose gear did not touch the runway.
During the subsequent circuit, the pilot performed another landing, touching down on the main gear and maintaining back pressure. While attempting to control the speed, the pilot felt the left wheel lock up, despite not applying the brakes. This caused the Tecnam P2002 JF, registration F-HANX, to veer sharply to the left. The resulting ground loop caused the nose gear to collapse, the right wing to strike the runway, and the propeller to break. The aircraft came to a halt approximately 350 meters from the runway threshold, 5 meters left of the centerline.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the environmental conditions and the aircraft's behavior during the landing roll. Investigators established that the aircraft was operating on an unpaved, grass runway that was damp due to recent localized showers. Meteorological data indicated that while the pilot expected a 5-knot wind from 280°, actual conditions involved a crosswind varying between 6 and 12 knots from 300° to 330°, with maximum gusts reaching 22 knots.
Findings
While the investigation could not definitively identify the exact cause of the loss of control during the landing roll, the following contributing factors were identified:
- Inadequate compensation for the crosswind conditions.
- Reduced surface adhesion caused by the moist grass runway.