What happened
During a flight departing from Annemasse Airfield, an aircraft carrying the pilot and nine skydivers experienced a significant mechanical failure. After reaching an altitude of 12,500 feet and beginning a descent, the pilot noted intense vibrations within the cockpit approximately five to six seconds after the descent began. Upon reducing the airspeed, the pilot observed that the right aileron had detached from the wing.
To manage the emergency, the pilot utilized the rudders and maintained full right stick input to stabilize the flight path. The pilot successfully navigated the aircraft back to the departure airfield, ultimately performing a landing on the grass adjacent to runway 30. The impact of the landing was severe, causing the right main landing gear to detach and resulting in structural damage to the fuselage. While the aircraft was declared a total loss, the pilot was able to exit the wreckage without any injuries.
Findings
- The aircraft experienced a structural failure involving the separation of the right aileron during the descent phase.
- The landing resulted in 0 fatalities and 0 injuries to the occupants.
- The aircraft sustained damage beyond repair following the failure of the landing gear during the landing sequence.