Overview
- The victims were a 25-year-old instructor and three ENAC students aged 18 to 21, identified by the Foix prosecutor, with ENAC noting the students were in an aviation safety and operations track and the instructor taught ground theory.
- The Robin DR400 left Saint-Girons for a short leisure flight, failed to return by 17:40, and was found near the étang d’Eychelle on the Bethmale commune in snowy, road-inaccessible terrain.
- Search operations coordinated by the ARCC in Lyon deployed gendarmerie and civil security helicopters and PGHM mountain rescuers, who rappelled to a disintegrated wreck and confirmed no survivors.
- A judicial inquiry under the Foix prosecutor is underway with specialized gendarmerie transport and mountain units assigned, autopsies planned, and investigators noting these aircraft lack flight recorders.
- ENAC activated psychological support, suspended classes for affected cohorts on Monday, and planned a minute of silence Tuesday, as the transport minister offered condolences and the aéroclub reported good weather and an aircraft in maintained condition.