Improper landing technique by trainee pilot led to serious incident at Kalaburagi Airport: DGCA probe

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) probing a serious incident at Kalaburagi Airport involving a TECNAM P2008JC aircraft has concluded in its report that the trainee pilot who was in command of the aircraft used improper landing technique and incorrect bounce-recovery inputs.

The civil aviation regulator probing the August 8, 2024 incident involving the trainer aircraft belonging to Redbird Flight Training Academy Private Limited has said that these actions by the trainee pilot who was flying solo resulted in the aircraft’s nose and propeller hitting the runway and leading to the collapse of the nose landing gear.

“The trainee pilot’s failure to execute a proper recovery from the bounced landing contributed to the incident,” the report stated as the probable cause of the incident.

According to the report, the incident occurred while carrying out a solo circuit and landing exercise, and the aircraft was under the command of a trainee pilot holding a valid student pilot licence and the solo flight had been authorised by the Chief Flying Instructor.

It said that the supervision of the solo flight was carried out by the instructor from the runway through radio telephony and the trainee pilot had completed two uneventful circuit and landing exercises prior to the incident flight.

However during the third circuit, the trainee pilot initiated the flare at a low height, resulting in a nose-wheel first touchdown.

“The aircraft bounced and the instructor monitoring the solo flight advised the trainee to carry out a go-around. After the third bounce, the trainee pilot attempted to execute the go-around but inadvertently applied forward pressure on the control stick instead of increasing throttle,” the report stated.

It added that this resulted in the aircraft’s nose and propeller hitting the runway, leading to the collapse of the nose landing gear.

“The aircraft continued to move along the runway following the collapse of the landing gear. No evidence of fire or smoke was observed on the aircraft. No injury was sustained by the trainee pilot,” it added.

The DGCA noted that on the day of the incident, the aircraft had completed five uneventful sorties with other trainee pilots and no defects were reported.

In its safety recommendations, the regulator has called for necessary corrective training to be imparted to the involved trainee pilot and that flight training organisations may be advised to establish the necessary infrastructure to record radio telephony communications.