Le Lavandou, France
Fouga Magister Accident, 2024
Le Lavandou, France
What happened
On Friday, August 16, 2024, a Fouga Magister aircraft tragically crashed into the sea during an airshow at Le Lavandou, France. The accident, which occurred at low altitude in front of spectators, prompted an immediate investigation by the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), which has now released its final report.
A significant challenge faced during the investigation was the absence of recorded flight data and the lack of radar coverage at the low altitude where the airshow took place. To address this critical gap, iwiation supported the investigation by reconstructing the aircraft's flight path using video footage captured by witnesses’ mobile phones.
For the first time, iwiation also succeeded in reconstructing the pilot's g-force exposure based on flight dynamics derived entirely from video data—a major advancement in post-accident analysis. This reconstructed dataset provided investigators with crucial information that could help identify the root cause of the accident, offering valuable insight into the aircraft’s performance and pilot inputs in the final moments before impact.
By enabling flight data reconstruction in situations where no traditional sources are available, iwiation demonstrates how the iwi methodology can enhance accident investigations and contribute to improved aviation safety standards.
On Friday, August 16, 2024, a Fouga Magister aircraft tragically crashed into the sea during an airshow at Le Lavandou, France. The accident, which occurred at low altitude in front of spectators, prompted an immediate investigation by the French Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), which has now released its final report.
A significant challenge faced during the investigation was the absence of recorded flight data and the lack of radar coverage at the low altitude where the airshow took place. To address this critical gap, iwiation supported the investigation by reconstructing the aircraft's flight path using video footage captured by witnesses’ mobile phones.
For the first time, iwiation also succeeded in reconstructing the pilot's g-force exposure based on flight dynamics derived entirely from video data—a major advancement in post-accident analysis. This reconstructed dataset provided investigators with crucial information that could help identify the root cause of the accident, offering valuable insight into the aircraft’s performance and pilot inputs in the final moments before impact.
By enabling flight data reconstruction in situations where no traditional sources are available, iwiation demonstrates how the iwi methodology can enhance accident investigations and contribute to improved aviation safety standards.
