Accident to the Robin DR400 registered F-GEKG on 14/06/2022 at Banon

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This is a courtesy translation by the BEA of the Final Report on the Safety Investigation published in November 2022. As accurate as the translation may be, the original text in French is the work of reference.

Note: the following information is principally based on statements made by the occupants of the aeroplane and a witness on the ground. This information has not been independently validated by the BEA.

1. History of the flight

The three occupants of the aeroplane took off from Gap at 09:30 bound for Banon mountain airstrip (altitude of 3,710 ft) as part of a dual control mountain initiation flight. A pilot under instruction was at the controls in the left seat, the instructor in the right seat and a second pilot in the rear left seat. After a reconnaissance, the pilot landed on runway 35 with a southerly tailwind. The instructor decided to change runways and to continue on runway 10. They made two landings on runway 10^[1], with some turbulence as they crossed the threshold, then parked the aeroplane to debrief and change pilots.

The pilot who had been in the rear seat took the controls and took off on runway 35 to carry out several runway circuits under instruction. He performed a reconnaissance of the mountain airstrip, then landed a first time on runway 10. The final approach was performed with a 10 kt southerly wind and some turbulence. The pilot under instruction chose the path level with the threshold as the aiming point and landed slightly before the threshold (see Figure 1). He took off again on runway 17 and lined up for a second landing on runway 10 at about 10:30. On the instructor's instructions, he flew the approach at 130 km/h without increasing speed, with full flaps^[2]. On final, the instructor detected a decrease in speed to about 120 km/h and asked the pilot in training to apply more power. The pilot did not react immediately and the aeroplane passed under the approach slope.

The instructor took the controls and applied full throttle while pulling the elevator control to intercept the approach slope from below, but the aeroplane continued to sink and landed about
10 m short of the runway. It bounced to the right, touched down in a lavender field adjacent to the runway, then came to rest 40 m further on, 7 m from the right edge of the runway. The engine mount, firewall, engine cowling, propeller and the right and nose landing gear were damaged as a result of running in the furrows of the field. The engine cowling was deformed and the occupants were unable to slide the canopy, which was blocked. However, after a few minutes, they managed to evacuate by releasing the canopy using the release levers intended for this purpose^[3].

2. Additional information

2.1 Banon mountain airstrip information

Banon mountain airstrip has two usable intersecting runways 10/28 and 35. Runway 17 is
not usable.

The airstrip information sheet published by the Association Française des Pilotes de Montagne (AFPM) specifies that the aerology can be tricky during the approach to runway 10. It is indicated that runway 10 is only usable when there is an easterly wind and that it is tricky even with a light westerly or north-westerly wind.

Figure 1: aerial view of final approach on QFU 10 (source: AFPM sheet)

2.2 Occupants' experience and licences

The 75-year-old pilot under instruction held an expired aeroplane commercial pilot licence and an aeroplane private pilot licence issued in 1972, extended in October 2020 by a test with an examiner. He had logged 1,143 flight hours of which 129 h on type and 1 h 45 min in the previous three months including 1 h 37 min on type, flown the day before. He did not have a mountain qualification but had several site approvals. This was his first time landing in Banon. In the past he had performed mountain flights with several pilots. The day before, he had carried out two aerodrome circuits at the Alpe d'Huez and one at Superdévoluy with this instructor on the F-GEKG and then two aerodrome circuits at Bourg-en-Bresse with another instructor on another DR400 and a Rallye. Before that, since the extension of his licence, he had only flown as a passenger. He had only carried out one flight with this instructor.

The 73-year-old instructor held an aeroplane private pilot licence issued in 1974, a mountain rating since 1985 and a mountain instructor rating (MI) since September 2021. He had logged 3,400 flight hours on single-engine aeroplanes, including 1,500 h as an instructor. He had logged 400 flight hours on the DR400, of which approximately 35 h were on the DR400-180, and 53 h in the previous three months, including 5 h on the DR400-180. He indicated that he was familiar with the mountain airstrip and had already been there four times.

The 65-year-old passenger in the rear seat held a PPL(A) private pilot licence issued in February 2020. He had logged 220 flight hours, all on the DR400, including about 12 h on the DR400-180. He had already landed two or three times at Banon in September 2020.

2.3 Statements

A witness on the ground, with aviation experience, was at the threshold of runway 10 during the second approach (with a south-easterly wind of 6 to 10 kt according to him). He reported that the aeroplane was on final at the threshold altitude, extremely low over the trees. The engine speed increased when the aeroplane was practically in level flight with a nose up attitude, drifting slightly to the right. The aeroplane touched down below the threshold and to the right of the runway. He reported that the temperature was approximately 27°C. He explained that the south-easterly wind generated a downdraft at the threshold, partly masked by the trees to the right of the runway if the pilot is low.

The pilot under instruction reported that at the start of the final the aeroplane was descending at 450 ft/min and that the slope and speed were correct. He explained that there was a downdraft during the last ten metres of the final, just before touchdown, and that he had the feeling that the controls were soft.

The instructor indicated that on the previous landing, on very short final at a height of 20 m above the threshold altitude, they encountered a downdraft. He then asked the pilot under instruction to offset the aiming point. On the second approach, he thought he reacted too late to a change in nose-up pitch attitude without an increase in power. This late action caused the aeroplane to sink and land hard before the runway. It then ran onto the runway before veering off. He explained that he should have aborted the flight after the first landing or taken the controls earlier on the second approach, with the pilot under instruction resting his hands on the controls. He added that he did not know enough about the pilot's expertise and thought that he had gone too far in the pilot's initiation.

General information

Local date	14/06/2022
Responsible entity	France - BEA
Scope of Investigation	Full (Annex 13) type investigation
State or area of occurrence	Europe and North Atlantic - France - 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Location	Banon mountain airstrip
Human consequences	None
Aircraft consequences	Substantial
Occurrence class	Accident
Occurence category	USOS: Undershoot/overshoot
File number	BEA2022-0259

Flight Information

Aircraft category	Fixed Wing - Aeroplane - Small Aeroplane - Small Aeroplane
Operator	France - Other (Aéroclub du Beaujolais)
Manufacturer / Model	ROBIN - DR400
Aircraft Registration	F-GEKG
State of registry	France
Last departure point	France - Other
Planned destination	France - Other
Flight phase	Approach
Serial number	1732
Operator Type AG	Flying club/school
Operation Type	Non-Commercial Operations - Flight Training/Instructional - Dual

BEA is the French air safety investigation authority for civil aviation. The sole objective of the investigation is to improve air safety. It is intended neither to apportion blame nor to assess responsiblity.

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