On March 23, 1980, a PIPER AIRCRAFT CORPORATION PA-28-181 (registration HB-PBI) was involved in an aviation accident near Saint Gingolph, CH. 3 people were killed. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The accident was directly due to the collision of the aircraft in cruise flight with the terrain. The collision was the result of a navigation error or loss of orientation by the pilot. This summary draws on records from the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB / SUST).
On March 23, 1980, Piper PA-28 HB-PBI crashed into a mountainside near Saint-Gingolph, France, killing three occupants. The aircraft entered fog during a VFR flight from Geneva to Sion.
Accident Overview and Investigation Authority On March 23, 1980, a Piper PA-28 aircraft with the registration HB-PBI crashed into a mountainside near Saint-Gingolph, France. The accident occurred during a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Geneva to Sion. The investigation was conducted by the French Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents, with participation from Swiss authorities. The aircraft was owned and operated by the Aéro-Club de Suisse, Section de Genève. The crash site was located at a place called Le Grand Pré in the commune of Saint-Gingolph, at an altitude of approximately 880 meters. The flight departed Geneva at approximately 14:42 UTC with three people and a dog on board. The pilot had previously telephoned Sion to check weather conditions, which appeared to permit a VFR flight. However, several people at the Geneva airfield had advised against the flight due to apparent weather conditions. All mountain peaks were covered, and the aircraft flew over Lake Geneva. It was seen passing over the Prangins airfield in Switzerland, opposite Ivoire in France. Near the eastern end of the lake, passing over Saint-Gingolph, the weather conditions were poor enough that the pilot performed a 360-degree turn and announced over radio to Geneva that he was turning back. Several witnesses heard the aircraft turning over Saint-Gingolph, but none could see it. The aircraft continued its turn beyond 360 degrees and took a heading of 160/170 degrees, which led it to collide with the slopes of the Pic de Blanchard above Saint-Gingolph in level flight with wings horizontal. The pilot and two passengers were killed, and the aircraft was destroyed. A dog was also killed. Some trees were damaged. The probable cause was determined to be a collision with terrain during cruise flight, resulting from a navigation error or loss of orientation by the pilot. This error or loss of orientation was caused by the aircraft entering instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), which was due to prevailing weather conditions and the pilot's limited flight experience. The pilot was a Swiss national born in 1950, holding a private pilot license valid until January 4, 1981, issued on September 14, 1979, in Bern, Switzerland. His total flight time was 95 hours as of March 5, 1980. The aircraft was a Piper PA-28-181 Cherokee Archer II, serial number 28.7790.274, with a Lycoming O-320 A4M engine. The aircraft was within weight and balance limits. The weather at Geneva at 15:00 UTC showed visibility of 8 km, wind from 230 degrees at 10 knots, and various cloud layers. At Sion, visibility was 8 km with wind from 250 degrees at 15 knots. The route from Geneva to Sion was affected by a disturbance associated with a depression centered over northern Italy. The sky was generally covered by medium clouds with bases around 2,500 meters, doubled by stratocumulus with bases at 800 to 1,200 meters, and locally doubled by 2 to 4/8 stratus at 200 to 300 meters. Scattered rain and even snow from 700 to 900 meters. Visibility was around 6 to 8 km, potentially reduced to less than 1 km in snowfall. Heights from 500 to 800 meters were often obscured. The investigation by Swiss meteorological services estimated conditions at Saint-Gingolph at the time of the accident: light wind from northwest to north, visibility 3-5 km, rain, temperature 5 degrees, moderate to light turbulence, and 6 to 8/8 nimbostratus clouds at 700 meters to the ground. The overall information and testimony concluded that the situation, already unfavorable for a VFR flight at Geneva, was frankly bad at the other end of the lake (Saint-Gingolph) and in the Rhône Valley up to the Saint Maurice gorge, where a light flow from the north sector accumulated clouds, lowering the ceiling and reducing visibility. The pilot of HB-PBI had not requested any information from Geneva meteorological services before departure. No indication suggested the pilot attempted to use any of the available navigation aids: VOR of Passery at departure, then VOR of St Prex and NDB of Gland. No anomaly in the operation of ground installations that could have been used by this aircraft was observed. Communications appeared to have been conducted normally. The pilot clearly announced his intention to turn back while reporting 'passing Saint-Gingolph.' He made no special request for assistance and reported no malfunction or failure of his aircraft. The airfield and ground installations were not involved in this accident. Regulations did not require recorders for this type of aircraft, which therefore was not equipped with them. The various trees damaged showed that the aircraft arrived in level flight, wings horizontal, following a heading of approximately 160/170 degrees. About twenty meters before the main impact, the right aileron remained caught on a cut tree, while the right flap, also torn from the wing, fell below. The aircraft struck the mountain (slope fairly steep, around 40 degrees) with the nose and right wing. The left wing detached with the main landing gear and continued its course upward by inertia, while the entire fuselage and right wing fell a few meters and caught fire. The propeller cut trees and then folded at impact in the mountain, showing that the engine was functioning normally. The fire started at impact with the mountain and was quite brief, extinguishing itself. The cabin and dashboard were totally destroyed. The right wing and rear fuselage, which remained attached, did not burn. The engine was not damaged by the fire. The fuel used was 100 LL gasoline. The violence of the impact left no chance of survival for the passengers despite the seat belts they were equipped with, which were found buckled. In addition, the fire quickly destroyed the cockpit. The emergency beacon located at the rear of the aircraft was found in the 'armed' position but does not appear to have functioned despite the violence of the impact. Although searches were quickly launched, weather conditions did not allow the wreckage to be found until the day after the accident at approximately 08:15. Testimonies collected by Swiss authorities confirmed that the pilot had not consulted the weather before departure; he had only telephoned Sion, the destination of his flight, where conditions appeared acceptable for a VFR flight. The pilot had filed his flight plan by telephone, and the traffic agent on duty had drawn his attention to the bad weather. The manager of the airport bar, considering the weather conditions, had advised the pilot, her only client, not to make the flight he planned. The bad weather conditions at the time of the HB-PBI flight were confirmed by a pilot in IFR training between Geneva and Annemasse and an employee of the Prangins airfield (Switzerland) who was surprised by the pilot's decision.