What happened
On 1 July 2022, a student pilot was conducting an instructional flight near Broué, France, as part of a training program to obtain a paramotor pilot certificate. The flight was being supervised by an instructor on the ground via radio. The student was performing a series of maneuvers using a Macfly 1SB paramotor with a Dudek Universal 1.1 wing, identified as 78ASI.
During the second flight of the day, the student attempted a series of 360° turns at an altitude between 100 and 150 meters. After an initial difficulty with the maneuver, the student attempted the turn again at the instructor's request. However, the pilot entered an uncontrolled sharp turn. Despite repeated radio instructions from the instructor to exit the turn and to raise a hand to signal control, the student failed to react. The aircraft entered a spiral descent, gaining speed and descending rapidly until it struck the ground in a wheat field. The student pilot sustained fatal injuries, and the paramotor was destroyed.
The investigation
The BEA examined the wreckage, the flight site, and the background of the individuals involved. The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the Macfly 185 engine and wing, the meteorological conditions, and the pilot's physiological state.
Investigators found that the engine, a Vittorazi Moster 185 Plus, was functioning correctly and that the wing was in good condition. The examination of the site confirmed the aircraft hit the ground with a steep nose-down attitude and a left bank. The investigation also noted that the student pilot was a trained military parachutist, which meant he was accustomed to much less reactive, more stable canopies than the highly agile paramotor wing used in the accident.
Findings
Several factors contributed to the fatal accident:
- The student pilot likely made an excessive control input during the start of the turn, causing the aircraft to enter a sharp, uncontrolled spiral.
- The pilot's prior experience with parachutes, which are significantly less reactive than paramotor wings, may have influenced his handling of the controls.
- The student pilot failed to respond to the instructor's radio commands to exit the maneuver.
- The student's ability to withstand the high G-forces of the spiral descent may have been impaired by physiological factors, as the pilot had not eaten since the previous day and was reportedly experiencing fatigue.
- The inherent asymmetry of the paramotor's design, which requires different control inputs for left versus right turns depending on engine power, may have contributed to the unexpected entry into the sharp turn.