2008 Piper PA-46 Malibu accident at Léguillac-de-Cercle

Overview and flight details On 25 May 2008, a Piper Aircraft PA 46 Malibu, registration N9245D, operated by Flaix Air Inc. Trustee, crashed at the lieu-dit Pouyade in the commune of Léguillac-de-Cercle, France. The aircraft departed runway 09 at Biarritz at 12:01 UTC for Coulommiers under a mixed IFR/VFR flight plan. At 12:20 UTC, it was stable at flight level 120 on the ENSAC 3T standard departure toward the Limoges VOR. The pilot contacted Aquitaine Approach and was instructed to proceed for NORON and then Limoges. At 12:48 UTC, the pilot conducted a radio check, which was received clearly. Five minutes later, the controller observed the aircraft deviating left and descending with increasing vertical speed. After four unanswered calls, radar contact was lost and a DETRESFA alert phase was initiated. Witnesses reported the aircraft emerging from clouds, falling flat in a spin, followed by debris, and impacting flat in a field. ## Casualties and damage Both occupants, a 49-year-old pilot and a 39-year-old passenger, were killed. Two adult Newfoundland dogs were found dead in the baggage compartment. The aircraft was totally destroyed, and the crash caused surface damage in a pasture. The external left wing half was recovered about 1,500 meters west of the fuselage six months later. ## Aircraft and personnel The aircraft was a PA 46-350P, serial number 4622157, first used on 24 March 1994, with 2,777 hours in service at the time of the accident. It was equipped with a weather radar, anti-icing system for lifting surfaces and propeller, and a three-axis autopilot, and was certified for known icing conditions. The pilot held a PPL(A) with instrument rating and had 720 total hours, including 138 on type. The passenger held a private ULM pilot license from 1995. ## Meteorological conditions A complex depression system generated a southerly flow with thunderstorm outflows from the Pyrenees to Limousin. Dense cloud cover (7 to 8 octas) extended from 1,500 feet to 30,000/35,000 feet, consisting mainly of cumulonimbus embedded in nimbostratus. A Bordeaux radiosonde at 11:00 UTC showed a saturated layer between 0°C and -10°C at 2,500 to 4,200 meters. Météo-France estimated that at flight level 120, humidity was 100% if the aircraft was in the cloud layer, with a temperature and dew point of -5°C. The aircraft was very likely in the cloud layer in a zone of high risk of severe icing. No weather documents for the route were found in the wreckage, and the crew had not contacted Météo-France before departure.