The French government is investigating after a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air B200 aircraft crashed on 16 June killing 11 people during an all the worse aviation accident in the nation this year in eastern France’s Vosges region.
It crashed in a forest near the commune of Autrey, a few minutes after leaving the airport in Epiteau-Mirecourt on Saturday. Emergency services, including firefighters, gendarmes and specialists to assist in a rescue, were sent to the crash site where all 11 people on board were confirmed deceased. No bodies or any injuries were reported on the ground.
French authorities say there were 10 people on board, including one pilot, at the time the plane became unconscious of ATC. The aircraft was en route to Aix-en-Provence, France, in the south of France. The cause of the accident has not been determined and it is not yet known from which direction or mechanism the plane toppled over in the accident.
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A formal safety investigation has been opened by France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) and the aircraft’s technical information, maintenance logs and available flight records will be retrieved and analysed in an effort to determine the cause of the crash.
The investigation also will involve examining conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers and questioning witnesses.
A security perimeter had been set around the remains, to keep them in place and allow forensic experts to identify the dead and inform their relatives, the Prefect of the Vosges department confirms. The preliminary finding will be based on a closed examination of the aircraft’s engines, airframe and other important parts by aviation investigators.
The reliable and compact Beechcraft King Air B200, which has been extensively exploited in France for medical evacuation, business transportation and specialised missions while justifying its use for charter flights and short-runway flights, is back in the spotlights for general aviation safety issues in the country.
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Although the aircraft has an excellent worldwide operational safety track record, aviation experts point out that a detailed technical investigation of each serious accident must be conducted prior to a conclusion.
The French have advised against speculation by the public until investigators have finished their investigation, saying exactly established causation of an aircraft accident can take weeks or months of extensive study.
