A microlight crashes in a field: the two occupants die suddenly in the crash, fifteen minutes after takeoff

Un aéronef ultraléger motorisé (ULM) s’est écrasé ce dimanche 23 juin 2024 (photo d’illustration). Dider Saulnier – MAXPPP

Un aéronef ultraléger motorisé (ULM) s’est écrasé ce dimanche 23 juin 2024 à Saint-Pol-de-Léon, dans le Finistère.

It is close to noon, this Sunday, June 23, 2024, when a microlight crashes in a field, behind a house, in Saint-Pol-de-Léon, in Finistère, reports The Telegram.

The two people on board the plane, a 59-year-old woman and a 61-year-old man, died. The two-seater had taken off from Lannion airport, in Côtes-d’Armor, a quarter of an hour earlier.

"He disappeared into the clouds"

Witnessing the crash, a motorist notified the emergency services, underlines TF1. The firefighters quickly noted the death of the occupants of the device.

A man, who was riding a bicycle, said he "saw the small plane flying very low before going up and disappearing in the clouds. Then, nothing more…", quotes Le Télégramme.

Human failure, mechanical failure?

The intervention was complex because the deminers had to eliminate any risk of explosion of the ULM. According to information from the Télégramme, the device is a "Shark", a modern machine whose reputation is to be the ’ ;rsquo;Fastest microlight in the world.

The gendarmerie has opened an investigation to establish the circumstances of this tragic accident. Human failure, mechanical breakdown, weather, collision with a bird, the causes can be multiple, according to investigators.