What happened
On August 16, 1964, a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, registration F-BLIX, arrived at the Lausanne Blécherette aerodrome from Lyon. During the landing sequence on runway 19, the aircraft initially made contact with the grass runway but subsequently bounced several meters into the air. Following this bounce, the pilot released the controls, causing the aircraft to enter a slight dive. Upon the second touchdown, the nose gear strut failed, causing the aircraft to come to rest in a nose-down position.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight sequence, the mechanical state of the aircraft, and the environmental conditions at the time of the incident. Weather conditions were reported as fair but cloudy, with horizontal visibility between 15 and 20 km and a light west wind of 3 knots. The aircraft, owned by the pilot, was a 1000 kg light aircraft. The investigation focused on the impact forces applied to the landing gear during the second touchdown and the pilot's control inputs during the bounce.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was an unsuccessful landing attempt characterized by a bounce.
- The aircraft likely touched the runway while still at an excessive speed, which, combined with the runway slope, contributed to the bounce.
- The pilot failed to arrest the descent or flare the aircraft properly after the initial contact, resulting in a nose-down attitude during the second impact.
- The structural failure occurred because the nose gear leg was subjected to loads exceeding its design limits during the second touchdown.