What happened
On the morning of the accident, a solo pilot departed Toussus-le-Noble Airport at 08:10 local time, intending to fly an instrument flight rules (IFR) route to Lyon. While operating under air traffic control guidance, the aircraft was vectored for a LOC DME approach toward runway 16 at Lyon-Bron Airport. By 09:07 local time, the pilot confirmed being established on the localizer and received clearance to land from the tower controller.
At 09:10 local time, the pilot notified controllers that a go-around procedure was being initiated. In response, the controller instructed the pilot to climb to 3,000 feet while maintaining a straight-in approach path. Following this instruction, air traffic control attempted to contact the pilot twice to verify the status of the approach interruption, but the pilot did not respond to these queries. Shortly thereafter, the pilot transmitted a distress message, stating, "Now, I'm not good at all."
The aircraft subsequently impacted a retention basin situated approximately 1,500 meters before the threshold of runway 16. The impact caused the aircraft to burst into flames, resulting in the total destruction of the plane. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was killed in the crash.
Findings
- The aircraft was performing a go-around maneuver when the sequence of events leading to the crash occurred.