What happened
On June 9, 2012, a Pilatus Porter PC6, registration F-GIHM, operated by Ecole Française de Parachutisme, was conducting a local parachute jump mission near Le Blanc, France. The pilot took off with six skydivers, a tandem instructor, and a passenger, intending to perform jumps at FL135.
During the climb, the aircraft entered a layer of mist and clouds, transitioning from VFR to IMC conditions. While attempting a third pass at the drop zone, the pilot performed aggressive maneuvers to correct the flight path. This resulted in a loss of control, causing the aircraft to enter an inverted spin. The high G-forces caused the occupants to be pinned against the cabin ceiling, making movement extremely difficult.
Despite the intense forces, six skydivers managed to evacuate the aircraft through a side door that had been left unlocked from a previous pass. Two occupants, the tandem instructor and his passenger, remained on board. The pilot eventually regained control of the aircraft at approximately 1,000 meters, restarted the engine—which had stopped during the spin—and performed a safe landing.
The investigation
The BEA investigation utilized radar tracking from Limoges and onboard video footage from the skydivers' helmet cameras to reconstruct the flight path and the sequence of the accident. The analysis of the flight parameters revealed that the aircraft's vertical speed fluctuated wildly and the airspeed dropped significantly just before the loss of control.
Investigators examined the aircraft's engine and found internal damage to the turbine caused by operating without adequate lubrication during the inverted spin. The investigation also reviewed the pilot's decision-making process, the meteorological conditions at the time, and the operational procedures of the parachute school.