BEA - Office of Investigations and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety of the French Republic

03/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 03/15/2024 05:24

Accident to the Centrair 101 registered F-CGFF on 15/08/2022 at Veynes

Accident to the Centrair 101 registered F-CGFF on 15/08/2022 at Veynes

Flight aborted belatedly, stall and collision with trees on final

Responsible entity

France - BEA

Investigation progression Closed
Progress: 100%

Although the pilot did not initially plan to fly alone because he was feeling tired, he finally decided to take off in a single-seater glider. He took off with the intention of staying in the vicinity of the aerodrome and without taking any oxygen on board. Once in flight, he changed his mind and exited the vicinity of the aerodrome. After two hours of flight mostly above an altitude of 2,500 m without oxygen, he decided to return to the departure aerodrome. On the return leg, he misinterpreted the display shown on the navigation application on his phone regarding the parachute drop activity located at Gap-Tallard aerodrome, which led him to change his path too early, to avoid what he thought to be controlled airspace. He then found himself at an altitude that was too low to cross the Céüse mountain. He therefore bypassed it to the north to fly back through a valley leading to Aspres-sur-Buëch, where he could not find any uplift. In the valley, he exited the vicinity of Gap aerodrome, and continued towards Aspres-sur-Buëch. He then realised a few minutes later that he would not reach his destination and belatedly looked for a field to carry out a precautionary landing. He did not have the Guide des aires de sécurité dans les Alpes and was therefore not aware that the field he chose was a referenced safe landing area. After flying overhead the field, he joined the downwind leg at a height that was too low, to the west of the field and downwind of the terrain (which could generate localised downdrafts). During the downwind leg, he was forced to move closer to the field, which he lost sight of. He then made a U-shaped approach at the end of which he found himself off-centre to the right of the field, too low and too far from his selected aiming point. As he tried to align with the field axis, he probably made a reflex input on the elevator control to stop the descent, causing the glider to level off slightly. The glider's speed decreased until it stalled. Too low and too far from the field, the pilot was then unable to reach it and was forced to land in the dry riverbed.

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General information
Local date 15/08/2022
Responsible entity France - BEA
State or area of occurrence France - 05 Hautes-Alpes
Location Veynes
Human consequences Serious
Number of serious injuries 1
Aircraft consequences Substantial
Occurrence class Accident
Occurence category LOC-I: Loss of control - inflight, LOLI: Loss of lifting conditions en-route
File number BEA2022-0399
Flight Information
Aircraft category Sailplane (Glider)
Operator France (CVV Bressan)
Manufacturer / Model CENTRAIR - 101
Aircraft Registration F-CGFF
State of registry France
Last departure point France - LFNJ : Aspres-Sur-Buëch
Planned destination France - LFNJ : Aspres-Sur-Buëch
Flight phase En route
Serial number 101A0220
Operator Type AG Flying club/school
Operation Type Non-Commercial Operations - Pleasure - Cross Country

BEA is the French air safety investigation authority for civil aviation. The sole objective of the investigation is to improve air safety. It is intended neither to apportion blame nor to assess responsiblity.