What happened
On April 12, 2003, at 14:45, a trainee pilot was conducting a solo navigation flight for PPL training at the Toulouse Lasbordes aerodrome. After deciding to refuel, the pilot began taxiing the Robin DR 400-140, registration F-GOVG, from the club parking area toward the fuel pumps.
As the aircraft approached the refueling area, a Reims Aviation F 150, registration F-BSIR, was stationary at the pumps. During the approach, the pilot of the F-GOVG was unable to stop the aircraft before striking the parked plane. The propeller of the moving aircraft struck the vertical stabilizer of the F-BSIR, causing damage to both the propeller and the tail section of the stationary aircraft. The impact caused the engine of the F-GOVG to stall.
The investigation
Investigators examined the braking performance of the F-GOVG following the collision. While the pilot reported that the brake pedals were ineffective during the approach, post-accident braking tests did not reveal any immediate malfunction. Analysis of the propeller damage indicated that the aircraft was traveling at approximately 7 km/h at the time of impact.
However, the investigation uncovered a previous pilot report from January 2003, which had not been recorded in the aircraft logbook. This report noted a braking issue that required "pumping" the pedals to achieve results. Although a technical intervention had been performed following that report, the issue was not formally communicated to all users of the aircraft.
Findings
- The primary cause of the collision was ineffective braking action during the taxi maneuver.
- A design characteristic of this generation of DR 400 aircraft was identified: applying full rudder pedal deflection results in weak braking of the inner wheel during a turn.
- A previous intermittent braking anomaly had been noted in an undocumented report, though no specific mechanical defect was found during the post-accident inspection.