What happened
On the day of the accident, a twin-engine aircraft operating under the call sign 'Bengale 97' was performing a survey mission over the Ajaccio region. The flight departed from runway 20 of the Ajaccio-Campo dell'Oro Airport with a crew consisting of one pilot and one fireman.
During the initial climb phase, the pilot began retracting the landing gear. At this moment, the left engine experienced a failure. In an attempt to recover, the pilot executed a left-hand turn to return to the departure runway. However, the aircraft entered a stall and descended into the beach at Capitello, located approximately 500 metres southeast of the runway threshold. The impact resulted in a post-crash fire.
The accident resulted in three fatalities among those on board and one 13-year-old girl on the ground, totaling four deaths initially. Additionally, four other individuals sustained serious injuries. In the days following the crash, two German tourists succumbed to their injuries, bringing the total death toll to six.
Findings
- The loss of power in the left engine occurred while the landing gear was being retracted.
- The aircraft stalled during an attempted turn back to the runway following the engine failure.