Event
On 19 July 2013 at 11:20 local time, a Robin DR400-180, registered F-GORD, operated by a flying club, departed from Lognes Emerainville for Le Touquet Paris Plage. The pilot, accompanied by one passenger, prepared for landing on runway 14 after listening to the ATIS reporting wind from 060° at 12 knots. The final approach was stable with a speed of approximately 120 km/h and a drift correction applied. After touchdown of the main wheels with the aircraft aligned, the pilot held the nose up to decelerate then gradually lowered the nose. The aircraft then turned sharply left. Despite rudder and brake inputs, the pilot could not prevent the aircraft from exiting the left side of the runway. The aircraft continued onto the grass and came to rest in a drainage ditch about 50 meters from the runway edge. The aircraft was heavily damaged.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
The pilot, aged 34, held a private pilot license since 2008. He had accumulated about 180 flight hours, all on the DR400 type. His last flight was in December 2012. The DR400-180 flight manual states that the nosewheel is equipped with an automatic in-flight centering lock, with the shock absorber extended. It provides no recommendations or procedures to ensure nosewheel unlocking during taxi or landing.
Investigation Findings
The air traffic controller reported the wind at the time of landing as 050° at 10 knots. The aircraft touched down just after the runway threshold and veered left, departing the runway approximately 400 meters from the threshold.
Ground tests conducted by the BEA showed that the nosewheel locking and unlocking functioned normally. Two days before the accident, another pilot had experienced a similar left runway excursion on the same runway with a wind from 090° at 8 knots, after which he took off and landed at Lognes without further issues. That pilot stated he had not pushed the stick forward to compress the nosewheel shock absorber. Subsequent maintenance inspection found no anomalies, and a taxi test was satisfactory.
DR400 instructors reported that they advise pushing the stick forward or applying brakes after nosewheel touchdown to compress the shock absorber and unlock the wheel. The accident pilot knew this advice but did not recall it during landing. He also could not recall applying aileron into the wind to maintain track after touchdown.
Probable Cause
During the landing roll, the stick was likely not sufficiently positioned forward to unlock the nosewheel, and not sufficiently positioned left to maintain adequate directional control using the rudder pedals. The runway excursion was probably due to a lack of appropriate flight control inputs to counteract wind effects and to unlock the nosewheel.