History of the Flight
On the evening of 3 January 2020, the pilot, an air traffic controller and manager of Lifou-Ouanaham Airport, along with three passengers, decided to conduct a night VFR flight during a private gathering. They departed from runway 12 a few minutes after the runway lighting was activated at 00:58. Witnesses located about 1,300 m from the threshold of runway 30 saw the aircraft climb and then turn left toward the northeast. They lost sight of it in the darkness but heard its engine noise grow louder and faster, then heard a collision with the ground.
Pilot Information
The pilot, holder of a Private Pilot License since October 2003, had logged approximately 3,000 flight hours, with 42 hours in the preceding three months—all in F-OIAT and none at night. He had 68 total hours in the Mooney M20J type. He held no instrument rating and had no recorded dual instrument flight time. His logbook showed 55 hours of night flying, with five night flights after purchasing the aircraft in August 2019, all landings at the start of aeronautical night and no night takeoffs. His Class 2 medical certificate required multifocal spectacles for hyperopia and presbyopia, conditions that reduce adaptation to low light.
Airport Information
Lifou-Ouanaham Airport is a controlled airport with a paved runway 12/30, 1,250 m long and 30 m wide. Night VFR flights are permitted. The airport has Precision Approach Path Indicators (PAPI) and pilot-controlled lighting (PCL) that deactivates after 15 minutes. The apron is lit by spotlights. On the night of the accident, the commercial traffic apron remained lit, while runway lighting was activated at 00:57:49 and subsequently turned off. The ATC service was not active at the time. Mobile phones and bottles of alcohol were later found on a patio of a controller's house.
Site and Wreckage Information
The wreckage was located about 2 km east of the airport in a grassy clearing. The aircraft was complete but ruptured, with wings and tailplane separated from the fuselage. The front of the aircraft left a 60 cm-deep crater. The landing gear was retracted, flaps were in the takeoff position, and the engine was running at impact. The elevator trim position could not be determined. The impact was high-energy with a near-vertical nose-down attitude. No data could be retrieved from the portable GNSS computer onboard.