Accident
A twin-engine aircraft conducting a survey flight under the call sign 'Bengale 97' with one pilot and one fireman on board took off from Ajaccio-Campo dell'Oro Airport runway 20. During the initial climb, the pilot retracted the landing gear when the left engine failed. The pilot initiated a left turn to return to runway 20, but the aircraft stalled and crashed on the beach of Capitello, approximately 500 metres southeast of the runway end, bursting into flames.
Victims
The pilot, Igor Daïc, and the fireman passenger, Lt Faustin Expédith, were killed. On the ground, a 13-year-old girl, Marie-Louise Tagnatti, was killed. Four other people were seriously injured. Several days later, two of the injured, German tourists Peter and Heike Kirsch, died from their injuries.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the probable cause was the failure of the left engine during initial climb for unknown reasons.