What happened
On Wednesday, January 19, 2011, an I.C.P.SRL Savannah-S ultralight, registration 01-WX, was conducting instructional flight maneuvers at the Bourg Ceyand aerodrome. The flight, consisting of an instructor and a student, departed from runway 36 to perform circuit patterns.
After approximately one hour of flight, the wind from the north began to increase. During the fifth circuit, as the aircraft was performing the flare, a sudden wind gust caused the aircraft to lift two to three meters off the runway. The student pilot applied forward elevator input before the instructor could react. Despite the instructor applying full power in an attempt to correct the flight path, the nose gear struck the ground with significant force, resulting in its structural failure. The aircraft sustained heavy damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the flight sequence during the landing phase and the prevailing meteorological conditions. At the time of the accident, visibility was greater than 10 km (CAVOK) with a temperature of 7 °C and a QNH of 1027 hPa. The wind was recorded as 15 knots from the north, with gusts reaching 30 knots.
Flight experience levels were also reviewed. The instructor held a multi-axis ultralight instructor rating since June 2010, with a total of 700 flight hours, 650 of which were on this specific type. The student pilot had accumulated 37 total flight hours, including 3 hours of solo flight, all on the same aircraft type.