Accident Details
The aircraft, a twin-engine plane operated by French Customs, was conducting a maritime patrol flight over the Mediterranean Sea. It carried a crew of two and three members of the French Ministry of Defense. Shortly after takeoff from runway 13, during initial climb, the aircraft banked to the right, struck a perimeter fence, and crashed in a large explosion on Triq Carmelo Caruana Street. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. All five occupants were killed.
Initial reports suggested the flight was part of the EU Frontex program, but this was later denied by the Border Agency. The French Minister of Defense, Jean-Yves Le Drian, confirmed the presence of all three French officers on board. The Government of Malta confirmed that such flights had been conducted by French Customs for five months as an official surveillance operation to identify human trafficking and narcotics routes in the Mediterranean.
Investigation
The investigation was conducted by the BEA-É (Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses for Defence). The condition of the wreckage and the absence of witness reports from the crew prevented a definitive determination of the cause. The aircraft was not equipped with a flight data recorder, which could have confirmed the precise sequence of events.
Probable Cause
The official findings stated that a technical malfunction was the cause of the accident. This malfunction probably originated from specific modifications made to the aircraft and the application of inappropriate maintenance to these modifications. Three scenarios were considered:
- Rupture of the HF antenna, which then wrapped around the elevator control surface;
- Inadvertent activation of the SAS (Stability Augmentation System), countered by the pilot;
- Jamming of the elevator due to a technical failure in the flight control line.
Given the evidence, the hypothesis of damage to a component of the elevator control line was deemed the most plausible explanation.