What happened
On April 16, 2005, a pilot operating a Rans Coyotte S5 microlight, registration G-CLEE, was conducting a cross-channel flight from Shifnall, UK, to Le Touquet, France. The pilot was part of a group of microlight pilots traveling to the region for a day of flying. After crossing the English Channel at 3,000 feet, the pilot intended to fly along the French coastline toward his destination.
While flying approximately three nautical miles off the coast, the aircraft entered a patch of maritime fog. This caused the pilot to lose all visual references to the coastline and the sea surface for several minutes. As visibility continued to degrade, the pilot attempted to use two GPS units to navigate toward the coast. To regain visual contact with the terrain, the pilot executed a left turn and descended to 600 feet. Once the cliffs and the sea became visible again, the pilot decided to terminate the flight and performed a precautionary landing in a field near Audresselles. Following the landing, the pilot used a mobile phone to notify the Le Touquet tower of the incident.
The investigation
The investigation examined the pilot's decision-making process and the environmental conditions at the time of the incident. While the weather reports for the area indicated dissipating fog with visibility expected to be above 5 km, the pilot encountered localized maritime fog that significantly impacted flight safety. The aircraft was equipped with a turn and slip indicator but lacked the necessary instrumentation for flight in conditions with restricted visibility. The investigation also noted that the pilot did not request updated meteorological information during the flight and had opted not to contact Le Touquet tower earlier due to heavy radio traffic.
Findings
- The pilot maintained insufficient monitoring of external visual references while flying through the fog.
- The pilot demonstrated an obstinacy to continue the flight based on GPS indications despite the loss of visual cues.
- The presence of maritime fog significantly reduced visibility below safe VFR limits.
- The aircraft was not equipped for flight in low-visibility conditions.