Accident Overview
A twin-engine airplane departed Perpignan-La Llabanère Airport on a private flight to Orléans, carrying one passenger and one pilot. On final approach to Orléans-Loiret Airport (ex Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel), the pilot encountered a loss of power on the left engine. He attempted an emergency landing when the airplane impacted trees and crash-landed in a wooded area located about 3 km short of runway 23, bursting into flames. Both occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was totally destroyed by a post-crash fire.
Sequence of Events
According to the investigation, the pilot, concentrating on monitoring the approach parameters, did not immediately realize the left engine malfunction. He noticed that the aircraft's rate of descent was too high to follow the standard approach slope. The pilot first attempted a go-around and reconfigured the aircraft by retracting the landing gear and flaps. Despite these actions, the pilot noticed that the power delivered by the aircraft's engines did not allow him to recover the plane. By being aware of the action of his right foot on the rudder pedal, he understood that the power delivered by the left engine was abnormally low. Given the low height of the plane at this observation, the pilot decided to land in the country.
Investigation Findings
The investigation determined that contributing to the high rate of descent after the left engine malfunction was the fact that the drags were extended at the time the engine power decreased and that the left propeller probably windmilled until the landing. The exact cause of the loss of power on the left engine could not be determined.