Date:	Saturday 28 July 2018
Time:	09:30
Type:	Robin DR.400/180 Régent
Owner/operator:	Les Ailes Ardennaises
Registration:	F-GFXE
MSN:	1755
Year of manufacture:	1987
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Category:	Accident
Location:	Charleville-Mézières Airport, Ardennes 08 -   France
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi
Departure airport:	Charleville-Mézières Airfield (XCZ/LFQV)
Destination airport:	Charleville-Mézières Airfield (XCZ/LFQV)
Investigating agency:	BEA
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The flight was planned as part of an event organized for the anniversary of a local company, during which approximately 50 discovery flights were scheduled.
The pilot arrived at the Charleville-Mézières aerodrome shortly after 08:30. He took the two planes out of the aeroclub hangar with the help of another pilot around 09:05, then began the pre-flight check of F-GFXE.
He boarded three passengers at 09:17 and started the engine five minutes later.
He then taxied to the holding point where he performed engine tests at 09:26, before returning to runway 11 and stopping. There, he performed the following actions corresponding to items on the pre-takeoff checklist: flap extension and ignition of the electric pump. He took off at 09:28, from the threshold, without having carried out a briefing or used a written checklist.
The aircraft took off after about 350 meters, then, as it reached a height of about 140 ft in initial climb, the engine rpm suddenly decreased. The pilot immediately turned to the left without putting the plane in descent.

A few seconds later, the plane stalled and collides with the ground in a grove.
A pilot took off a few minutes later from runway 29, also accompanied by passengers, without having noticed the accident.
One of the surviving passengers alerted the rescue at 09:55.

Contributing factors:
Assuming that there was fuel starvation as a result of the fuel selector being moved, the following factors may have contributed to the engine shut-down:
- The absence of a before take-off briefing.
- The pilot not using the written check-lists which may have resulted in the fuel tank selected before take-off not being checked (this hypothesis could explain the pilot’s very probable action on the selector during the take-off run).
- The fuel tank changes during the take-off run.
- The continuing of the take-off despite the red light on the warning panel coming on.
These factors may have been partly caused by the pilot being in a rush due to the time pressure arising from the organization of a large number of sight-seeing flights without a suitable structure. It is likely that the financial situation of the flying club prompted the president to accept this very ambitious programme with respect to the available means.
We can reasonably suppose that prior discussions and a basic risk study might have contributed to identifying this pressure and the associated difficulties.
The correct fastening of the seatbelts of the rear passengers might have perhaps mitigated their injuries.

BEA
http://www.lardennais.fr/104412/article/2018-07-28/accident-d-avion-dans-les-ardennes
http://www.champagnefm.com/news/un-avion-s-ecrase-dans-les-ardennes-44504
https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/deux-morts-et-deux-blesses-lors-d-un-bapteme-d-avion-dans-les-ardennes-1532788093
https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/grand-est/ardennes-deux-morts-deux-blesses-lors-bapteme-air-avion-1519094.html
________________________
http://www.ailes08.fr/index.php/auto-genere-a-partir-du-titre
http://www.ailes08.fr/images/avions/XE-1.JPG

Other occurrences involving this aircraft


29 March 2004

F-GFXE

0

Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme 63

min

Taken at LFQV 20100627

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Jul-2018 10:24	harro	Added
28-Jul-2018 10:26	harro	Updated [Operator, Embed code, Narrative, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:28	harro	Updated [Total occupants, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:30	Iceman 29	Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:33	Iceman 29	Updated [Source, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:39	Iceman 29	Updated [Narrative, Photo, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:45	Iceman 29	Updated [Total fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
28-Jul-2018 10:46	Iceman 29	Updated [Narrative, ]
28-Jul-2018 12:07	Anon.	Updated [Total fatalities, ]
28-Jul-2018 12:10	harro	Updated [Date, ]
28-Jul-2018 20:51	DIEBIE	Updated [Photo, ]
28-Jul-2018 22:12	Iceman 29	Updated [Nature, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative, ]
29-Jul-2018 10:19	Iceman 29	Updated [Narrative, Photo, ]
14-Dec-2020 17:10	harro	Updated [Departure airport, Destination airport, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ]
22-Feb-2021 12:32	harro	Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ]
30-Jun-2022 04:08	Ron Averes	Updated [Location, ]