EASA grounds Elixir fleet after fatal test flight accident
All Elixir aircraft have been grounded following a fatal accident involving an aircraft operated by the French manufacturer.
EASA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive on Friday 2 October suspending all flight operations by the type from 3 October. The directive applies to every Elixir aircraft, regardless of serial number, and has also been published by the UK CAA as a current Emergency Airworthiness Directive.
The accident happened on Thursday 1 October during what Aviation Safety Network reports was a test flight from Elixir’s home base at La Rochelle. The aircraft, using the test registration F-WZAG, crashed short of Runway 12 at Rochefort Charente-Maritime Airport during a planned touch-and-go.
Aviation Safety Network reports that the two people on board were factory production test pilots. Both were killed and the aircraft was destroyed.
EASA says the investigation remains under way and the exact cause or causes have yet to be established. Elixir had already issued an Alert Service Bulletin grounding its fleet before EASA issued the Emergency AD.
EASA describes the grounding as an interim measure pending further information and says further Airworthiness Directive action may follow.
