What happened
On the night of August 28, 2005, an ATR 42-500, registration F-GPYA, was performing a scheduled passenger flight from Auxerre Branches to Lyon Bron. During the final stages of the approach to runway 34, the crew executed a visual approach under night conditions. While maneuvering to establish the aircraft on the correct heading, the crew momentarily lost visual contact with the airfield installations.
As the aircraft transitioned into the short final phase, it was traveling at a high speed, significantly above the established approach profile. During the flare, the crew moved the engine power levers toward the ground idle position. This resulted in a hard landing with a vertical load factor exceeding 3g. The impact caused significant damage to the aircraft, specifically breaking the main landing gear shock absorbers. Despite the impact, the aircraft was able to taxi to the parking area under its own power.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the flight path during the night visual approach and the crew's management of the descent. Investigators examined the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) to reconstruct the sequence of events, including the crew's verbal communications regarding the aircraft's position and the use of the ILS 34 axis. The investigation also reviewed the aircraft's maintenance history and the operational procedures regarding unstabilized approaches.
Findings
- The crew lost visual reference to the runway during a turn to establish the base leg.
- The aircraft was flying at a high airspeed and an excessive descent rate on short final.
- The crew failed to maintain a stabilized approach profile.
- The reduction of engine power to ground idle during the flare contributed to the aircraft's inability to arrest the sink rate, leading to the heavy impact.
- A GPWS (Ground Proximity Warning System) alarm was triggered during the descent, but no corrective action was taken by the crew.