History of the Flight
The flight was planned as part of an anniversary event for a local company, with around 50 introductory flights scheduled. The pilot arrived at Charleville-Mézières aerodrome shortly after 08:30. With the help of another pilot, he removed two club aircraft from the hangar around 09:05 and began the pre-flight inspection of F-GFXE. He embarked three passengers at 09:17 and started the engine five minutes later. Taxiing to the holding point, he performed engine tests at 09:26, then backtracked on runway 11 and stopped at the turn-around area. There, he completed actions including flap extension and electric pump activation from the before-take-off checklist. He took off at 09:28 from the runway threshold stripes without performing a briefing or using the written checklist.
The aircraft lifted off after a ground roll of approximately 350 m. Upon reaching about 140 ft in the initial climb, engine speed suddenly decreased. The pilot immediately turned left without descending. A few seconds later, the aircraft stalled and collided with the ground in a grove. Another pilot took off from runway 29 a few minutes later, unaware of the accident. One of the survivors contacted emergency services at 09:55.
Additional Information
Pilot Information
The 70-year-old pilot held a valid private pilot license (issued 1998) with an SEP rating and approximately 660 flight hours. He flew almost exclusively the club's aircraft, a DR400-140B and F-GFXE. His last flight in F-GFXE was the day before the accident, ferrying it from the maintenance workshop. He was the flying club president.
Aircraft Information
F-GFXE was a Robin DR400-180 Regent of wood and fabric construction, equipped with a 180-hp Lycoming O-360-A3A engine. It had a single fuel tank system: an aft center tank (110 L), two wing tanks (40 L each), and an auxiliary tank (50 L) behind the cabin. Fuel from the auxiliary tank was gravity-fed to the center tank via a knob on the instrument panel. A four-position selector (center, left, right, off) controlled fuel supply. The aircraft had undergone its 100-h inspection in an approved workshop on 26 July 2018, and had flown twice since. The flight manual indicated fuel consumption between 33 and 38 L/h; the club's checklists used 38 L/h. Based on the logbook, mean consumption was approximately 34 L/h.
Meteorological Information
Météo-France estimated the morning conditions: ceiling above 4,000 ft, visibility greater than 10 km, and rain showers until 08:45. The automatic weather station at Charleville-Mézières at 09:00 reported temperature 21.9 °C and calm wind.
Accident Site Information
The wreckage was located in trees at the edge of a wooded area, about 400 m from the end of runway 11, left of the centerline. Flight control linkages were continuous; all cable failures resulted from impact with ground and vegetation. The impact was severe; thick branches penetrated the windshield. Fuel tanks were empty due to impact damage. Fuel supply components (pumps, gauge system) were too damaged for functional checks. The fuel selector was found in the left position, indicating the left wing tank was selected at impact. Engine and accessory examination (magnetos, spark plugs, carburetor) revealed no failure explaining the power reduction and engine shutdown. All warning panel bulbs were examined; the flap-extended light was likely illuminated at impact; low-fuel-pressure and low-fuel-level lights were probably off.
Audio-Video Recordings Analysis
Three passengers filmed the flight. On startup, fuel gauges indicated: left tank half-full, center tank full, right tank quarter-full, auxiliary tank empty. The fuel selector position at takeoff could not be determined. The pilot and passengers were not wearing shoulder harnesses; lap belt use was unconfirmed.
Engine speed from the soundtrack showed normal values during ground run and initial takeoff, but shortly before the end, variations and a rapid drop from 2,400 rpm were observed. Fuel pressure gauge indicated maximum before takeoff, then fluctuating values from 09:28:19, reaching a minimum at 09:28:40. The low fuel pressure light was not seen on during that sequence. At 09:28:10, the pilot performed an action on the pedestal (likely the fuel selector); immediately after, the low fuel pressure light illuminated. He then performed another action, and the light went out. The light briefly came on again at 09:28:41 after power decrease, during the left turn. The stall warning activated after the engine speed drop at 09:28:47 and remained on until impact at 09:28:56.
Statements
The pilot of the previous flight (the day before) reported a 55-minute flight using only the right wing tank. She added 88 L of fuel to the center tank after landing, noting the gauges showed wing tanks about a quarter full. She left the fuel selector in the right wing tank position. Another pilot who saw the accident pilot boarding passengers said no precise instructions were given. Other introductory flight pilots identified him as the organizer but had no conversation with him.