Circumstances
On 9 August 2018, at 09:37 local time, an Aero AT-3 R100, registered HB-SRB, was destroyed in an accident on the airport of Bern-Belp (LSZB). The flight was a training flight under visual flight rules (VFR) and was the pilot's first solo flight. The pilot, a Greek national born in 1975, was a student pilot with a total of 37:59 flight hours, of which 7:50 were on type. He held no pilot license and was alone on board.
Sequence of Events
The pilot had completed three touch-and-go landings and a full-stop landing with his instructor earlier that morning. Both considered the training satisfactory, and the instructor approved the student for his first solo flight as per the school's syllabus.
At 09:29, the pilot departed on runway 14 for his first solo flight. After one normal traffic pattern, he initiated a landing approach that was too high. The aircraft touched down hard on the runway and bounced back into the air. The pilot then initiated a go-around. During the go-around, the aircraft rolled to the left, entered a steep bank, and struck the ground near taxiway A from a low altitude. It came to rest under the wing of a parked airliner. The pilot was uninjured. The aircraft was destroyed. Minor damage was caused to the parked airliner, and minor ground damage occurred due to spilled fuel.
Aircraft Information
The Aero AT-3 R100 is a single-engine, two-seat, metal-construction aircraft certified under CS-VLA. It was powered by a Bombardier Rotax 912 S2 engine with a right-turning propeller. At the time of the accident, mass and center of gravity were within the permissible limits. No pre-existing technical defects were found.
Meteorological Conditions
Weather at Bern-Belp was fair with light wind. Visibility was over 10 km, no clouds, wind 1 kt from variable direction, temperature 21 °C, dew point 16 °C, QNH 1015 hPa.
Training and Syllabus
The pilot was in training for a Private Pilot License (Aeroplane). The syllabus consisted of 10 stages; the pilot was in stage 4, which included lesson 4.4 – the first solo flight. Lesson 4.2, a prerequisite, had been repeated 26 times over the past year. Prior to the solo flight, a check flight with the instructor was conducted, which was deemed appropriate given the pilot's uneven training progress.
Investigation Findings
The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) found no evidence of technical malfunctions or external disturbances. The aircraft type exhibits a tendency to roll left when power is increased rapidly near stall speed, which was noted during test flights following a similar accident a year earlier. The pilot's control inputs during and after power application were not adapted to the situation.
Cause
The accident was caused by the pilot's inappropriate control of the aircraft during the go-around initiated after a hard landing. The aircraft's tendency to roll left with rapid power increase near stall speed favored the loss of control.