What happened
On September 2, 2013, a student pilot was conducting a solo navigation flight as part of PPL training, following a triangular route between Touss<ins>s</ins>us-le-Noble, Auxerre, and Orléans Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel. The flight proceeded normally through the first leg of the trip. Upon arriving at Orléans Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel, the pilot entered the traffic pattern for runway 23.
While the final approach was stable with a slight crosswind, the pilot noted that the flare was performed slightly high. During the landing, the Aero AT3 R100, registration F-GNMZ, bounced off the runway surface. This bounce caused the aircraft to pitch forward, leading to the collapse of the nose gear. The aircraft subsequently slid along the runway and came to a stop at the left edge of the paved surface. There were no injuries reported.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the landing gear and the pilot's handling of the aircraft. Meteorological conditions at the time were suitable for flight, with a light variable wind reported by the AFIS agent. The agent observed the aircraft landing heavily and bouncing, noting that the nose took an unusual position.
Technical examination of the nose gear revealed evidence of friction marks from contact with the runway. Investigators identified a failure at the mounting plate where the gear strut connects to the wheel fork. The analysis determined that the plate suffered a sudden failure due to an overload, acting from the front to the rear. This caused the wheel to tilt backward under the strut, forcing the front of the fork to scrape against the runway.
Findings
- The pilot's insufficient mastery of landing techniques led to a high flare, which resulted in the initial bounce.
- The sudden impact during the bounce caused a structural failure of the nose gear mounting plate due to excessive loading.
- The pilot had a total of 45 flight hours, with 13 hours acting as pilot-in-command, and had previously been noted by instructors for performing high flares.