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Chemin de Carrere, Petit-Bourg, Basse-Terre -
Guadeloupe
Phase:
Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:
Private
Departure airport:
Guadeloupe Airport Le Raizet (PTP)
Destination airport:
Guadeloupe Airport Le Raizet (PTP)
Investigating agency:
BEA
Confidence Rating:
Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities
Narrative: The pilot requested clearance from the air traffic controller of Pointe-à-Pitre Le Raizet Airport to start up and fly south towards Goyave Capesterre, and then back to the airfield. He took off at 08:07 and flew south at an altitude of 1,000 ft. He turned back at Anse de Sable, south of Goyave, then took a heading north and flew towards the house of a woman who had been a close friend. He then began a U-turn during which he cut off the transponder, and started descending. A witness observed the aeroplane at a very low height above the roof of a house lower down the slope from the house initially flown over and then heard the engine power increase. A few seconds later, the aeroplane collided with the woman’s house.
A close friend of the pilot indicated that the latter had had a relationship with the occupant of the house from 2007. Little by little they had grown apart and at the end of 2016, the pilot’s day-to-day life had been notably affected by this. He specified that from this point, the pilot completely let himself go. In the week preceding the accident, the pilot’s fatigue had been such that it prevented him from carrying out an in-flight test. He withdrew into himself and assessed the last nine years as being negative. Furthermore, he had envisaged consulting a doctor. In contrast, the day before his last flight, he had seemed jovial and was planning leisure activities for the beginning of the following week. The aeroclub personnel specified that on that day, the aeroplane had not been reserved by the pilot, but by another instructor for a flight scheduled to leave at 08:30. The pilot sometimes used an aeroplane without having reserved it.
Scenario On his way back to the airport, the pilot flew abeam the east side of the house of a woman with whom he had been close. He flew past the house before turning back to descend towards it. This path and the cutting off of the transponder show the deliberate nature of the manoeuvre. The aeroplane collided with the house. The investigation was not able to determine if the collision with this house was intentional or was the result of an uncontrolled go-around, the aeroplane’s performance in this flight phase not allowing it to clear the obstacles.