History of the Flight
Around 08:55 local time, the pilot, accompanied by two passengers, departed from Saint-François aerodrome (Guadeloupe) for Marie-Galante aerodrome under a VFR flight plan. At 08:59, the pilot contacted Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet tower controller, who assigned a transponder code. Radar showed the aircraft flying at 1,500 ft along the west coast of Marie-Galante. At 09:08, the pilot closed his flight plan on frequency while approximately five nautical miles from the aerodrome. A military transport pilot on Marie-Galante heard the pilot check in on the A/A frequency while on the right-hand base leg for runway 09. The last radar detection at 09:11 placed the aircraft aligned on the runway axis about one nautical mile from the threshold at 600 ft, the radar detection floor. A witness, an airplane pilot four nautical miles west of the runway threshold, reported seeing the Cessna heading toward runway 09 at low height before losing sight of it as it entered a squall. No further communications were heard on the A/A frequency. At 18:20, the club's chief pilot, concerned by lack of news, contacted air traffic services, initiating search and rescue.
Aircraft and Pilot Information
N615VB was a Cessna 172S Skyhawk equipped for IFR flights per US regulations. It carried two emergency transmitters: a 121.5/243 MHz ELT and a 121.5/406 MHz PLB, neither detected by COSPAS-SARSAT. The aircraft was not equipped with an underwater locator beacon. At departure, its flight range was about 2 hours 20 minutes. The 65-year-old pilot held a French Private Pilot Licence (PPL(A)) and estimated 400 flight hours, with 10 in the previous two months on type. He was co-owner of the aircraft and did not hold an American license, which is not a French regulatory requirement.
Meteorological Conditions
A tropical wave brought a cloud mass over southern Guadeloupe on 26 September 2016. Satellite imagery showed clouds covering Marie-Galante by 08:30, with rapid thunderstorm development by 09:00 persisting and spreading. Lightning radar indicated electrical activity. A witness on Marie-Galante reported intense thunderstorm activity with squalls, reduced horizontal visibility, and high electrical activity. Another witness, a meteorologist at Pointe-à-Pitre, noted visible electrical activity to the south of Marie-Galante. The pilot, aware of the forecast, had obtained TAF, METAR, and SIGWX information. He and the club chief pilot noted a 30% probability of cumulonimbus, but the pilot stated he would avoid them. They consulted rainfall radar images at 08:00 that showed no significant phenomena. Return flight plan was for 11:30.
Flight Path and Circumstances
The pilot took off in clement conditions and passed between two cloud masses heading south. The eastern cloud mass, moving westward, progressively reduced the possibility of a turn-around. The pilot continued along the Marie-Galante coastline and entered a second cloud mass with electrical activity and rainfall. The precise sequence of events leading to loss of control during final approach in thunderstorm conditions remains unclear.
Search and Rescue
The alert was raised at 18:39. Visual searches by two helicopters and two boats were suspended at 22:14. They resumed the next day with an additional aircraft from 06:56 to 17:21, but were stopped due to adverse weather. The southern areas of Marie-Galante, Canal des Saintes, and Canal de la Dominique were covered. No survivors, wreckage, or debris were found. The pilot had filed a flight plan as required. However, he closed it approximately five nautical miles from the destination, which is permitted but terminates alerting service. This is authorized by regulations but may lead to delay in search and rescue if no arrival report is made.