What happened
On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, a Tecnam P2008 aircraft was involved in a hard landing incident at Cootamundra Aerodrome in New South Wales during a training flight. The aircraft was being operated by a private flight school, with a flight instructor and student pilot on board. The incident occurred during a circuit emergencies lesson focused on simulated engine failure after take-off (EFATO) procedures.
Prior to the exercise, the instructor provided a detailed briefing and demonstrated the EFATO maneuver twice. The student pilot then successfully performed one EFATO under the instructor's guidance. During the student's second attempt, the instructor reduced engine power to idle to simulate an engine failure. The student reacted incorrectly by pulling the control stick fully aft, contrary to the briefed instructions. Despite the instructor's verbal commands and attempts to counteract the student's input by applying forward pressure on the control stick, they were unable to overpower the student's control inputs.