2012 Vichy Charmeil Reims Aviation F152 accident

Accident overview On Saturday, 19 May 2012, at 16:00 local time, a Reims Aviation F152 with registration F-GKDE was destroyed in a crash at Vichy Charmeil aerodrome in France. The aircraft was operated by a club and was carrying one person, the pilot, who was killed. ## Circumstances The accident occurred during an open day organized by the Vichy aeroclub. The pilot took off from runway 01 and completed a left-hand traffic circuit at 1,000 ft, after which he went around on a short final. He then overflew the runway at a few metres above the ground and began a low-level circuit. Witnesses reported that during the last turn the aircraft suddenly banked sharply to the left with a steep nose-down attitude before striking the ground. ## Aircraft and pilot Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any malfunction that could have contributed to the accident. The pilot was 67 years old and held a private pilot licence for aeroplanes issued in 1978. He had 500 flight hours, including 3 hours on type, all completed in the three months before the accident. He had been a member of the club since 1 January 2012 and had been checked out on the F152 in March by a club instructor. During the flight, he had not performed a low-level circuit, mainly for environmental reasons. Before this, he had never flown high-wing aircraft. ## Weather The weather conditions were: wind from the north-east between 3 and 5 kt, few clouds at 4,000 ft, broken clouds at 5,000 ft, and a temperature of 23 °C.