Low Fuel Incident: Emergency Night Landing at Avord Air Base (F-GXPP)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On 5 November 2013, a Robin DR 400-140B aircraft, registered F-GXPP, operated by a general aviation club for personal convenience, experienced a low fuel situation that led to an emergency night landing at the Avord military airfield in France. The flight was a personal trip involving a single pilot on board, with no injuries or damage reported. The incident occurred at 7:00 local winter time (UTC + 1). ## Flight Sequence and Emergency Response The pilot had originally planned a round trip from Toulouse Lasbordes to Toussus-le-Noble on 4 November to drop off two passengers. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the pilot made a fuel stop at Clermont-Ferrand and arrived at Toussus-le-Noble around noon. The pilot estimated the remaining fuel endurance to be less than two hours. After consulting with the club's chief pilot, the pilot decided to use the FFA's accommodation insurance and postpone the return flight to 5 November. However, the chief pilot advised that the next day's flight was not feasible due to weather forecasts. On the morning of 5 November, the pilot departed Toussus-le-Noble at approximately 5:30 without filing a flight plan. The pilot intended to refuel at Orléans Saint-Denis-de-l'Hôtel but failed to contact the airfield around 6:00. At 6:20, the aircraft reached FL100 and headed toward Bourges. The pilot attempted to contact Bourges at 6:30 but mistakenly tuned to the Poitiers Approach frequency. The pilot informed the Poitiers controller of a critical fuel situation and intended to divert to Bourges. The controller advised that Bourges' AFIS service was not active due to the early hour and that lighting could not be activated. The pilot then asked if the Avord air base was open and headed toward it. The controller urgently coordinated with the Air Force to open the airfield and activate the lighting. Around 6:45, the pilot reported seeing the runway, contacted the Avord controller, declared an emergency, and landed. The engine was stopped a few minutes later. In the afternoon, after a partial refueling, the pilot departed Avord for Bourges to complete the refueling, arriving at Bourges around 16:30. The Bourges AFIS agent insisted that the pilot file a VFR night flight plan due to the late estimated arrival time at Toussus-le-Noble. The pilot appeared fatigued and departed around 16:45 in marginal weather conditions. The pilot landed at night at Toussus-le-Noble and was informed that the required VFR route had not been followed. ## Pilot Background and Contributing Factors The pilot was 23 years old, holding a private pilot license with night rating, and had 201 hours of flight time since 2009, including 117 hours as pilot-in-command. In the preceding three months, the pilot had 7 hours and 24 minutes of flight time, all on type. On the morning of 4 November, the pilot had briefly reviewed available weather information without anticipating the return flight, describing the weather as 'not conducive to VFR flight.' The pilot attributed insufficient flight preparation to impatience to fly and pressure from friends, as well as professional constraints requiring the round trip to be completed in one day and the need to respect the aircraft reservation slot. On the morning of 5 November, still concerned about these constraints, the pilot considered that the flight to Toulouse Lasbordes 'could be done.' The pilot was accustomed to flying in the Toulouse region and carried only paper charts for the South-West region and airport charts within a 150 NM radius of Toulouse, relying on electronic versions downloaded to a smartphone and the integrated GPS (Garmin GNS 430) for radio frequencies. In April 2012, the pilot had committed a radio frequency selection error due to insufficient flight preparation, joining the circuit of a controlled airfield without contact and causing a commercial IFR flight to go around. Following this infraction, the pilot's flying club grounded the pilot for three months, but the pilot did not feel the impact of the sanction because they were flying in the United States at the time. ## Weather Conditions and Regulatory Context On 4 November, in northern France, cloud cover varied between 3 and 7 octas, with stratocumulus layers based between 300 ft and 1,500 ft and tops reaching 1,000 to 2,000 ft. Visibility was generally over 8 km but locally reduced to 1.5 km under rain showers. In southern France, cloud cover was 8 octas, with cloud bases between 2,000 ft and 5,000 ft and ceilings exceeding FL100. Moderate icing was reported from FL080. A cold front was moving rapidly across France from west to east. On 5 November, the 0°C isotherm was at FL050. Cloud cover was 5 to 8 octas, with stratocumulus layers based between 1,500 ft and 4,000 ft and tops reaching 8,000 to 10,000 ft, giving way to altocumulus with tops exceeding 14,000 ft. Visibility was generally over 8 km but locally reduced to 5 km under rain showers. Moderate icing was reported from FL065. VAC charts indicated that flight information service was provided from 7:30 in winter at Orléans and 7:00 at Bourges. Both airfields were equipped with Pilot Controlled Lighting (PCL), available after prior notice to the AFIS agent. The VAC chart for Toussus-le-Noble specified that the airfield was closed to all traffic from 22:30 to 6:00 and reserved for based aircraft from 6:00 to 7:00, with no refueling possible before 6:00. For VFR night flights, regulations required filing a flight plan, maintaining visual contact with the ground, a vertical separation of 1,500 ft from cloud bases, visibility of at least 8 km between departure and destination airfields, and no forecast of precipitation or thunderstorms between these airfields. ## Safety Lessons and Conclusion The low remaining fuel quantity led the pilot to divert and make an emergency landing at an airfield that had not been prepared as a diversion airfield. A strong desire to complete the planned flight, low risk awareness, and overconfidence in personal abilities led the pilot to undertake a difficult trip flight after insufficient preparation. Disregarding the chief pilot's advice, the pilot departed without the necessary safety margins. Personal constraints on a pilot can sometimes lead to disregarding regulatory frameworks. The temptation may be particularly strong if the pilot has previously broken rules without consequence and overestimates their ability to manage difficult situations. Regulations, procedures, and instructions are designed to help pilots operate in the safest possible conditions. Compliance with these rules helps avoid many distress situations. This incident is related to BEA studies on 'objective: destination' and 'fuel failure in general aviation.'