What happened
On October 3, 2018, an Aerospool WT9 (registration F-JDMN) was involved in a serious incident during a private flight departing from Sion Airport (LSGS). During the pre-flight inspection, the pilot failed to notice that the tow bar was still attached to the nose wheel of the aircraft.
Shortly after takeoff, while attempting to retract the landing gear, the pilot identified an issue with the gear mechanism and initiated a turn back toward the airfield. Following a low-altitude pass approximately three minutes later, air traffic control notified the pilot that the tow bar was still hooked to the aircraft. The pilot subsequently decided to land on the runway, specifically choosing the area behind the military cable. The aircraft landed at 13:20 local time and came to a stop on the runway with the tow bar still attached. There were no injuries to the pilot or any other persons, and no damage was sustained by the aircraft or the airport infrastructure.
The investigation
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (SUST) initiated a summary investigation following a report from Sion Airport officials. The investigation focused on the sequence of events from the pre-flight phase through the landing. The inquiry established that the incident was identified by air traffic control after the pilot performed a low pass following the initial gear retraction attempt.