History of the Flight
The aircraft, a Piper PA-28 Arrow registered F-GHKI, departed Florence airport (Italy) at approximately 15:20 local time under visual flight rules (VFR) for Cannes-Mandelieu airport (Alpes-Maritimes), with a planned route over Corsica. On board were a pilot and three passengers, including the pilot's wife and two friends. At 16:33, the pilot contacted the Bastia-Poretta Flight Information Sector (FIS) controller, announcing he was en route to the Moule reporting point east of the control zone and requested clearance to transit north of Bastia at 3,000 ft. While heading toward the NW reporting point, at 16:42 he requested clearance to climb to 4,500 ft and then asked for destination weather information. One minute later, as the controller attempted to transmit the weather, radio contact with F-GHKI was lost. Alert and search operations commenced. The wreckage was located at approximately 19:51 at an altitude of 4,288 ft below the summit of Monte Stello by a helicopter equipped with infrared detection.
Meteorological Information
Météo France had issued an orange severe weather warning for the region due to a strong, humid southerly flow. Heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were forecast for southeastern France, including Alpes-Maritimes and Var. Over Corsica, low-level humidity approached or exceeded 90%. Stratus clouds with bases below 200 m reduced visibility to 7,000–8,000 m, and orographic uplift from south/southeasterly winds thickened stratus and fog, completely shrouding terrain above 200 m. The Bastia-Poretta airport report at 17:00 showed wind 160° at 7 kt gusting 11 kt, visibility 7 km, and cloud layers at 560 ft, 2,000 ft, 8,200 ft, and 23,000 ft. The Sacro weather station on Cap Corse reported total cloud cover between 1,000 and 2,000 ft with horizontal visibility at sea not exceeding 8 km at 16:00. The pilot's weather documents from the departure airport forecast severe turbulence in southern Corsica and overcast conditions with showers and thunderstorms at Cannes, with visibilities possibly dropping to 3,000 m. The pilot had not obtained forecasts for the alternate airport (Nice-Côte-d'Azur) or the route.
Site and Wreckage Information
The accident site was in mountainous terrain 27 km north-northeast of Bastia-Poretta airport, at an altitude of 4,288 ft near the summit of Monte Stello. Wreckage was scattered on both sides of the north-south ridge line. First impact marks were on the eastern flank approximately 50 m below the ridge on a steep rocky slope. The final impact was on the western flank. The aircraft was destroyed by a post-impact fire. Fractures indicated a high-energy collision with the aircraft in a nose-up climbing attitude. Engine and propeller examination showed the engine was delivering power. Inspection of the wreckage and maintenance records revealed no pre-accident malfunctions or anomalies.
Reconstruction of the Path
Radar data from Rome showed that the pilot began a climb from 3,600 ft less than one minute before the collision, with an average rate of climb of about 235 ft/min—insufficient to clear the main ridge of Cap Corse.
Conclusion
The investigation concluded that the aircraft was in cruise flight in mountainous region in weather conditions incompatible with VFR flight, resulting in collision with terrain and subsequent fire.