Accident to the Piper PA30 registered N8663Y on 12/08/2021 at Cannes

Shortly after take-off from Cannes airport, the pilot encountered engine power problems when switching tanks, leading him to perform a precautionary U-turn. While returning to the airport, the pilot noticed that N8663Y could not maintain speed in level flight and then lost altitude, without being able to identify any particular engine anomaly at that time. As he was unable to regain height, he landed on the water about 4 NM from the threshold of runway 35 at Cannes airport.  

The investigation was unable to determine what caused the failure of the engine(s), which led to the emergency water landing.

Based on the hypothesis that one of the engines delivered reduced power, a traction asymmetry would have been detected. The lack of feathering of the propeller would then have contributed to the deterioration of the aeroplane’s performance by increasing the aeroplane’s drag, which could explain why the pilot was unable to maintain level flight. Imprecisions in the pilot’s statement did not allow this hypothesis to be confirmed or refuted.

Based on the hypothesis that both engines failed, feathering the propellers would not have, in any case, allowed the pilot to glide to Cannes airport, given the distance he had to cover when the malfunction occurred. In this context, a water landing was the only option he had.

The pilot landed on the water in an area with a high concentration of pleasure boats at this time of the year, not far from Cannes airport. He was therefore quickly picked up by boaters and then by the airport’s responders, who arrived at the site on board a Zodiac.