What happened
On Saturday, July 19, 2003, at 11:45 local time, an Aéros Kiev Skyranger "Best Off" ultralight, identified as 83-CR, crashed during a local flight at AD Gap (05). The aircraft was carrying two occupants: the pilot and a passenger. Shortly after departing the runway, the pilot observed the aircraft banking sharply to the right. Although the pilot attempted to correct the movement by applying left input, the right turn intensified, leading to a collision with the ground. The impact resulted in one injury and the total destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the aircraft following its recent transport. The pilot had previously operated the aircraft in Canada before it was disassembled for transport back to France. In June 2003, the owner and a representative from an ultralight company reassembled the aircraft. This was the second time the representative had performed this specific assembly procedure.
Investigators examined the wreckage and discovered that the aileron control cables had not been crossed according to the required specifications. This error caused the aileron movement at the control stick to be inverted. While the crew stated they had performed a pre-flight check to verify that stick movements corresponded to aileron movement, the investigation determined that the pre-flight inspections were insufficient to detect the mechanical error.