JAK-52 Accident at Šilutė Aerodrome (LY-AQD)

Incident Overview and Aircraft Details On June 20, 2004, a JAK-52 aircraft, registration LY-AQD, operated by Šilutės aeroklubas, was involved in an accident at Šilutės aerodrome. The aircraft was manufactured by Aerostar S.A. in Romania. During the flight, the pilot was conducting circuit training at the aerodrome. The incident occurred during the pilot's seventh flight of the day, as he was simulating a landing with a failed engine. The pilot delayed the deployment of the landing gear, planning to lower it during the final approach. However, he forgot to extend the gear and only noticed the error after leveling out the aircraft. The aircraft's propeller blades struck the aerodrome surface, causing significant engine vibration. The pilot aborted the landing and climbed for a go-around. During the subsequent landing attempt, the pilot forgot to deploy the landing flaps. With a tailwind of 3-4 m/s and insufficient aerodrome length, the aircraft overshot the runway. The pilot attempted to slow the aircraft using rudder, which caused the left wingtip to strike the ground. The aircraft then made a hard landing on the nose and right main wheels. The nose gear strut fractured, causing the aircraft to overturn onto its back. The pilot was not injured, but the aircraft sustained severe structural damage. The accident investigation was conducted by the Orlaivių Avarijų bei Incidentų Tyrimų Vadovas. The investigation focused on identifying safety factors to prevent future accidents and incidents, rather than assigning blame or liability. The pilot's commercial aviation pilot license had expired, but this was not considered a contributing factor to the accident. The aircraft's landing gear resource had also expired, which may have contributed to the fracture of the nose gear strut. The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by pilot errors during the flight, which led to the propeller damage, the significant overshoot during the repeated landing, and the hard landing. No safety recommendations were issued.