What happened
On May 19, 2004, at 15:10, a Rutan Long Ez with registration F-PYYI was performing a local flight at Lognes Aerodrome. The pilot, who was also the aircraft's builder, was cleared by air traffic control for a direct approach to runway 26. During short final, the pilot observed another aircraft departing and decided to interrupt the approach.
After consulting with the controller, the pilot applied full power to perform a go-around. During this maneuver, the pilot operated the manual hand crank to retract the nose gear. Once the runway was clear, the controller authorized the pilot to land. The pilot subsequently extended the nose gear and proceeded with the landing. However, upon touchdown, the nose gear retracted, causing the aircraft to slide approximately 20 meters before coming to a stop on its nose two-thirds of the way down the runway. There were no injuries to the pilot.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of the landing gear extension and the pilot's engine power settings. The aircraft is equipped with a visual and audible warning system designed to activate when the nose gear extension process begins, provided the throttle is at the idle position. This warning remains active for several turns of the manual crank. The investigation examined the pilot's actions regarding the transition from the aborted approach to the final landing and the mechanical state of the gear extension.