Accident to the Jodel D195 identified W42SF on 25/02/2022 at Roanne-Renaison

During the initial climb, the pilot reported a problem over the frequency, which led him to turn to the left to immediately come back to the runway. The investigation was unable to determine the reason why the pilot aborted the flight. However, given the path described by the witnesses, it is likely that the pilot experienced a partial or total reduction in engine power.

Given the temperature and relative humidity conditions, it is possible that carburettor icing during the ground phase caused this reduction in power at take-off.

The investigation was unable to determine what led the pilot to try to come back to the runway rather than continuing on the extended axis of the runway, where the environment was suitable for a forced landing. Several factors may have contributed to this decision:

• the pilot may have wanted to minimise the risk of material damage in the context of selling the aircraft;
• it is also possible that, faced with a partial reduction in power, the pilot considered that he had enough power to reach the runway;
• finally, due to his gliding experience, the pilot may have drawn a parallel between this situation and that experienced in gliders during cable break exercises, a situation in which it is possible, from a certain height, to come back to the runway by turning around.

 After performing a turn-around, the pilot approached the unpaved runway at an angle of around 30°. Shortly after flying over the metal fence that marks the aerodrome boundary, the microlight’s left wing stalled at a very low height and then struck the ground. It is possible that a late detection of the fence took the pilot by surprise with the potential effect of him making an inappropriate nose-up input to clear this obstacle, leading to the stall.