What happened
On the afternoon of Friday, September 4, 1998, a Cessna 152, registered F-GDIG, was conducting a solo navigation flight from Tours to Sainte-Foy-la-Grande. The aircraft was operated by Reims Aviation for flight training purposes.
As the flight approached its conclusion, the pilot began performing a series of maneuvers, including wing rocks and tight turns. During a climbing turn, as the aircraft reached approximately 800 feet, it entered a spin. The aircraft subsequently impacted the ground with a steep nose-down attitude. The accident occurred near Ligueux, in the Gironde department.
The investigation
Investigators examined the flight circumstances and the pilot's experience level. At the time of the accident, the pilot was 22 years old and had recently obtained their pilot license on September 3, 1998. The pilot's total flight time was 27 hours, with 19 of those hours logged on the Cessna 152 type, 19 of which had been completed within the three months preceding the event.
Meteorological conditions at the site were characterized by winds from 240° to 280° at 8 to 10 knots, with gusts up to 15 knots. Visibility was greater than 10 km, with broken cloud layers at 1,500 and 9,000 feet. The temperature was 20 °C with a dew point of 18 °C, and the atmospheric pressure (QNH) was 1009 hPa.
Findings
- The accident resulted in one fatality (the pilot) and the total destruction of the aircraft.
- The primary cause of the accident was identified as risk-taking during the execution of maneuvers.