What happened
On Friday, August 1, 2003, at 12:30 PM, a Cessna 150 M, registration F-BXIG, was conducting a flight from Pamiers to Perpignan. Following a brief stop in Pamiers, the pilot and one passenger departed from runway 27. The pilot initially intended to perform a right-hand turn after takeoff to head toward Perpignan, but instead executed a left-hand turn to avoid parachutists near the airfield.
During the climb, the pilot noted a surprisingly low rate of climb and suspected a malfunction in the artificial horizon. Concerned by these observations, the pilot maintained a heading of approximately 210 degrees, which led the aircraft into the Ariège valley. The pilot proceeded south through the valley floor, staying below the ridge lines, while searching for a path leading east. Upon reaching a cirque at an altitude of approximately 5,500 feet, the pilot attempted a 180-degree turn. During this maneuver, the aircraft lost control and impacted a gentle slope in a meadow. The impact caused the aircraft to catch fire, though the pilot and passenger managed to evacuate before the fire spread. The accident resulted in two slight injuries and the destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the pilot's decision-making and the aircraft's performance during the climb. Investigators examined the flight path through the valleys and the pilot's loss of visual references. While the pilot reported a suspected defect in the artificial horizon, the destruction of the instrument panel by the post-impact fire prevented a technical analysis of the instrument's functionality. The investigation also considered the impact of environmental factors, such as temperature and altitude, on the aircraft's climb capability.