What happened
On October 31, 2020, a private Beechcraft S-35 Bonanza, registration LV-IIE, was conducting a general aviation ferry flight from Venado Tuerto to Marcos Juárez. The flight proceeded without technical issues under optimal meteorological conditions. During the final approach to runway 07, the pilot elected to use a landing configuration with flaps fully extended, a procedure the pilot occasionally used for training purposes.
While at 1,000 feet and 90 knots, the pilot deployed the landing gear and then moved the flap lever directly to the full position in a single motion. This configuration change significantly increased aerodynamic drag and altered the descent profile. The pilot observed a decrease in indicated airspeed and an increase in the descent gradient but chose to continue the approach, assuming the aircraft would simply touch down earlier on the runway.
As the aircraft approached the threshold, the pilot attempted a flare at approximately 30 meters of altitude. The aircraft made initial contact with the ground 50 meters before the runway threshold, touching all three landing gear components simultaneously. The aircraft then bounced, traveling approximately 170 meters through the air, before striking the runway again on its nose gear. This second impact caused the nose gear to collapse and the propeller to strike the ground, resulting in an immediate engine stoppage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the aerodynamic changes occurring during the transition to full flaps and the pilot's management of the descent. Investigators examined the aircraft's flight path, noting that the pilot maintained power settings typically used for an 8-degree flap configuration rather than adjusting for the increased drag of the full flap setting. The analysis also reviewed the physical evidence on the runway, which confirmed the initial three-point contact and the subsequent bounce that led to the structural failure of the nose gear.