What happened
On May 9, 2015, a private Socata TB10 Tobago, registered F-GDBK, was conducting a local flight departing from the Bar-sur-Seine aerodrome with two passengers on board. Following a successful engine test run with no observed anomalies, the pilot took off from runway 29.
During the initial climb, as the pilot reduced the manifold pressure to 20 inches of mercury, the engine RPM dropped abruptly to approximately 1200 RPM. The aircraft entered a nose-down attitude. In an attempt to restore power, the pilot performed several corrective actions, including adjusting the throttle, switching to the secondary fuel tank, modifying the propeller pitch, and activating the electric fuel pump. Despite these efforts, the engine power did not recover.
Maintaining a maximum glide speed of 160 km/h, the pilot prepared for an emergency landing in a wheat field directly ahead. During the impact, the nose gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to a halt approximately fifty meters further along the field. The landing resulted in heavy damage to the aircraft, specifically affecting the propeller, engine mount, and left wing.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the engine failure and the circumstances of the landing. Witnesses on the ground reported seeing black smoke trailing the aircraft shortly after takeoff. While the BEA did not perform a formal engine examination, the pilot noted that the engine continued to rotate freely following the accident. The investigation also considered the pilot's difficulty in estimating altitude due to the height of the crops in the landing field.