Accident Details
On April 17 at 11:04 UTC, a Piper PA-31 Cheyenne II, registration HBLTI, departed from runway 17 of Cascais aerodrome (LPCS) on an IFR private flight to Marseille airport (LFML). The aircraft carried one pilot and three passengers. Multiple eyewitnesses reported that after takeoff, the twin-engine aircraft began to lower its left wing and turn left while climbing slowly to approximately 300 feet. The left bank increased and speed decreased, leading to a stall. The aircraft entered a steep dive and impacted the ground near a logistics dock of a local supermarket, located southeast of the airfield, about 700 meters from the end of the departure runway.
Aircraft and Impact
Following the impact, the aircraft exploded and caught fire, affecting a logistics dock, a house, and a truck. The aircraft was destroyed by impact force and post-collision fire. All four occupants were killed. The driver of the truck affected by the explosion was also killed. The fuselage, wings, engines, and propellers were severely damaged by impact force and the subsequent fuel-fed fire. The structural damage was consistent with extensive loads during impact and the effects of the fire. No pre-crash structural defects were found. All aircraft parts and control surfaces were located at the site. The flaps and landing gear were found retracted at the time of impact.
Investigation
The official investigation identified the probable cause as the pilot's failure to maintain airplane control following a power loss in the left critical engine. The root cause of the left engine failure could not be determined due to extensive impact damage and the intense fire. Contributing factors included a lack of proper pilot training, particularly concerning emergency scenarios of critical engine failure immediately after takeoff.