What happened
On July 31, 2012, at approximately 17:37 local time, an Ultralair Pelican GT912 ultralight, identified as 83-AIG, was engaged in a banner towing operation along the French coast. The flight was part of a promotional campaign involving two aircraft flying from the Sauvian ultralight platform.
After completing an initial pass between the Aude and Orb river mouths, the pilot of 8CT-AIG turned left to begin a second pass. During this maneuver, the aircraft experienced a sudden descent. The pilot attempted to increase engine power but was unable to recover control before the aircraft struck the water approximately 400 meters off the coast of Valras. In a final attempt to mitigate the impact, the pilot released the banner and deployed the emergency parachute.
The investigation
Investigators analyzed GNSS flight data and compared the accident flight to previous successful maneuvers. The data revealed that the aircraft maintained an altitude of approximately 300 ft until the loss of control. While the aircraft's average airspeed during straight flight segments was between 73 km/h and 86 km/h, the investigation found that the left turn performed during the accident was significantly tighter than previous turns.
The aircraft's manual specifies a clean stall speed of 70 km/h. At the time of the accident, the aircraft was towing a 128 m² banner via a 100-meter cable. Meteorological reports from the nearby Béziers-Vias aerodrome indicated a 10-knot wind from 160°.
Findings
- The primary cause of the accident was insufficient airspeed monitoring during a high-bank turn, which led to an aerodynamic stall.
- The low altitude inherent to banner towing operations left the pilot with insufficient time to recover from the stall before impacting the water.
- The deployment of the emergency parachute helped reduce the severity of the impact, preventing more serious injuries to the pilot.