Serious incident to the Robin DR400-120 registered F-GOVA on 06/12/2014 at Cambrai (Nord)

Intoxication au monoxyde de carbone lors d'un vol de nuit, demi-tour et atterrissage d'urgence, en instruction

Responsible entity

France - BEA

Investigation progression Closed

Progress: 100%

During a night-time take-off and the initial climb with the windshield demisting activated, the three occupants experienced dizziness and nausea caused by inhaling carbon monoxide (CO). Despite his reduced flying ability, the instructor made an emergency counter-QFU landing, without any further damage.

The instructor's doubt as to the interpretation of the colour of the CO detector patch led him to discuss the risk of poisoning during the pre-take-off briefing. This enabled the crew to react quickly by turning back after the first symptoms of poisoning were detected.

Final report (EN) (2020/09/21)

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General information
Local date	06/12/2014
Responsible entity	France - BEA
State or area of occurrence	France - 59 Nord
Location	AD Cambrai
Human consequences	Minor
Number of minor injuries	3
Aircraft consequences	None
Occurrence class	Serious incident
Occurence category	SCF-PP: powerplant failure or malfunction, MED: Medical
File number	BEA2014-0039

Flight Information
Aircraft category	Aeroplane - Small aeroplane
Operator	France (UNION AERONAUTIQUE DU CAMBRESIS)
Manufacturer / Model	ROBIN - DR400
Aircraft Registration	F-GOVA
State of registry	France
Last departure point
Planned destination
Flight phase
Serial number	2303
Operator Type AG	Flying club/school
Operation Type	Non-Commercial Operations - Flight Training/Instructional - Dual

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.