Accident to the Cessna - 206 Soloy registered F-HSTL on 28/09/2019 at Albi (Tarn)

The pilot and his passenger improvised a parachute drop flight at night under VFR from Albi even though the drop zone was not active and this type of night flight is not authorised by the company that owns the aircraft.

The pilot contacted the air navigation services to inform them of his intention to make a drop at FL100. The control tower supervisor at Blagnac, in charge of the Toulouse FIS, replied that he had no objection providing that he maintained radio contact with the flight information service. The radio contact that the pilot had with the air navigation services before and during the flight encouraged him in his decision to go ahead with his plans. He did not check whether the meteorological conditions would allow him to complete the planned flight. He took off from runway 27 without airport lighting. He began the climb to FL100 and then stopped at an altitude of about 6,500 feet, probably due to cloud cover. He descended and then announced the parachute drop, which took place at an altitude of 4,500 ft. He continued the descent at a vertical speed of approximately 1,100 ft/min and then proceeded towards the final approach to runway 27. In the absence of sufficient outside visual references, allowing him to know his precise lateral position and therefore his obstacle clearance margin, he collided with the vegetation with a slightly nose-down attitude on a path converging with the final approach to runway 27.