Event
On 20 April 2006, at approximately 10:55 UTC (12:55 local time), a Robin DR 400-160, registration I-DINU, operated by Aero Club Bologna, was conducting a private flight from Bologna Airport to Molinella airstrip. The sole occupant was the pilot. During the landing roll on runway 03, the aircraft overran the runway, struck fixed obstacles (concrete pipes) located about 100 meters beyond the runway threshold, and came to rest near a ditch. The pilot was not injured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, including a broken propeller, right wing damage, severed right main landing gear leg, torn right flap lever, punctured left fuel tank, firewall damage, deformed engine mount, destroyed carburetor, and misaligned engine and alternator.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Robin DR 400-160, a single-engine, low-wing monoplane with fixed landing gear, serial number 1711, built in 1985. Its maximum takeoff weight was 1,050 kg. At the time of the event, the aircraft had accumulated 4,626 flight hours. The engine was a Lycoming LYC O-320, model O-320-D2A, serial number L 10037-39A, with 6,765 total hours and 1,600 hours since its last overhaul.
Personnel Information
The pilot was an 80-year-old Italian male holding a valid private pilot license with SEP (Land) and radiotelephony (Italian) ratings. He held a valid second-class medical certificate with a requirement to wear corrective lenses in flight. His total flight experience was 585 hours 45 minutes, with approximately 350 hours on the same aircraft type. In the 90 days preceding the accident, he had flown only 1 hour 19 minutes.
Meteorological Information
Weather conditions were characterized by variable wind at 3 knots, visibility greater than 10 kilometers, and no significant cloud cover.
Airstrip Information
Molinella airstrip is a non-paved airstrip with a grass runway measuring 1,000 by 60 meters, elevation 7 meters, orientation 03/21. At the time of the accident, horizontal markings for both runway thresholds were not evident, as required by the then-current regulation (Ministerial Decree of 8 August 2003). Concrete pipes were located about 100 meters beyond threshold 21, bordering a ditch that crossed the runway extension orthogonally.
Analysis
Ground marks indicated that the aircraft touched down beyond the midpoint of the runway, approximately 300 meters from threshold 21. After touchdown, the aircraft veered left, passed threshold 21, and struck the concrete pipes about 100 meters beyond the threshold. No evidence of mechanical malfunctions was found. Performance tables indicate that for a landing weight of 800 kg and outside temperature between 15°C and 20°C, the aircraft requires about 450–500 meters to stop on a grass runway. The pilot's final approach was executed such that touchdown occurred beyond the midpoint, leaving insufficient remaining runway to stop.
Probable Cause
The investigation determined the probable cause was the pilot's incorrect landing approach (errata impostazione della manovra di atterraggio da parte del pilota), which led to touchdown beyond the midpoint of the runway. Contributing factors included the lack of adequate horizontal runway threshold markings, which may have made the final approach more difficult; inadequate pilot knowledge of aircraft landing performance; and limited flying activity in the preceding 90 days.