What happened
On June 16, 2012, at approximately 19:30 local time, a DR 400-160, registration F-GLKL, was performing a landing at Abbeville Aerodrome with two passengers on board. After a flight duration of roughly 70 minutes, the pilot entered the base leg for runway 20. During the final approach, the pilot maintained an airspeed of approximately 75 knots using full flaps, which was roughly 15 knots above the stall speed.
As the aircraft neared the ground, the airspeed dropped to approximately 65 knots. The pilot felt the aircraft sink, and the landing gear struck the ground before reaching the runway threshold. Upon touchdown, the aircraft veered to the left, exited the paved surface, and performed a ground loop. The impact caused the nose gear to collapse and the left main gear to penetrate the wing structure. The aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
The investigation examined the aircraft's flight parameters, the environmental conditions, and the pilot's actions. At the time of the accident, the wind was recorded at 13 knots from 260°, with gusts reaching 19 knots from 290°.
Visual inspections of the runway and aircraft revealed that the aircraft traveled approximately ten meters on the paved surface before the threshold, and the propeller struck the ground prior to reaching the runway. The aircraft exited the runway approximately 60 meters from the threshold. The pilot stated they did not have sufficient time to execute a go-around once the sink was felt and noted that the stall warning was not heard.
Findings
- The primary cause of the loss of control was insufficient monitoring of flight parameters during the final approach.
- The aircraft's airspeed decreased significantly just before touchdown, leading to a hard landing.
- While the aircraft's flight manual did not specify a particular configuration for crosswind landings, modern guidelines suggest using a single flap setting and adjusting approach speed to account for gust values.