What happened
On August 2, 2015, a Schempp-Hirth Ventus C glider, registration D-466 and 64, departed from the Serres la Batie-Montsaléon airfield for a soaring flight through the Alps. The pilot, an experienced aviator with over 4,400 flight hours, provided his final radio report at approximately 16:50, stating he was near the Grand Roc Noir and heading back. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft struck the southern flank of the Rocher des Dents mountain at a high velocity. The impact resulted in the death of the pilot and the total destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The BEA examined the wreckage located on a steep slope at an altitude of 2,790 meters. The investigation revealed that the initial impact occurred approximately 50 meters above the main debris field, characterized by a high-energy, head-on collision with the terrain. No mechanical anomalies were found on the aircraft prior to the crash. Investigators analyzed data from a Zander GP940 flight recorder, which provided four-second interval tracking of the flight path.
Flight path reconstruction showed that while the pilot had been flying along the ridgeline at altitudes between 1,500 and 3,700 meters, the final six minutes of the flight showed a loss of altitude while flying on the leeward side of the terrain. The autopsy of the pilot revealed the presence of old ischemic heart muscle lesions, indicating underlying coronary artery disease that the pilot was unaware of.
Findings
- The aircraft was in a right-hand turn immediately before the collision.
- At the final recorded position, the glider was at an altitude of 2,912 meters on a northerly heading, which was lower than the height of the terrain to the north.
- While the terrain to the west was flyable at a lower altitude, the pilot had entered a turn that directed the aircraft toward the obstacle.
- The pilot suffered from undiagnosed coronary artery disease, which may have been exacerbated by the physiological strain of flying at high altitudes, where increased cardiac output and ventilation are required.
- The investigation could not definitively determine the exact cause of the accident, but noted that the physiological demands of high-altitude soaring can trigger acute symptoms in pilots with pre-existing cardiovascular conditions.