Elixir Aircraft fleet grounded after fatal trainer crash in France

French investigators have released their initial findings into the crash of an Elixir Aircraft single-engined trainer at Rochefort airfield on 1 October, which killed both people on board.

The BEA said the accident aircraft carried serial number 65 and the test registration F-WGAZ. Its left flap came away during circuit flying. The two occupants were completing a third circuit and had been asked by one of the pilots to fly a low-level pattern, the agency said. As the aircraft turned onto final approach to runway 12, the flap separated and the pilot lost control. A parachute fitted to the airframe was released but at too low a height to help, and the aircraft struck the ground. Both occupants were employees of the manufacturer.

Elixir Aircraft grounded its fleet after the accident, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency turned that step into an emergency directive. Around 60 aircraft across five countries are affected by the precautionary measure.

The company said three days of investigation had not yet produced an explanation for the flap detachment, leaving the circumstances and cause of the event undetermined. It said it is co-operating fully with the authorities examining the crash.