An investigation for “manslaughter” was opened Friday after the death of a 33-year-old ULM instructor and his 56-year-old student in the crash of their aircraft in
Comberjon (Haute-Saône) we learned from the Vesoul prosecutor’s office. “From takeoff, the ULM quickly went into a spin”, declared the public prosecutor, Emmanuel Dupic, who spoke of a “violent” shock. The aircraft crashed at Sabot aerodrome, where it had taken off.
“Both men died instantly. The bodies present serious trauma, especially to the head, ”he added. A psychological support unit has been set up for the families of the victims. According to Martine and Jean-Marc Thérouanne, organizers of the International Festival of Asian Cinemas (FICA) in Vesoul, the instructor was Marc Haaz, filmmaker and technical director of the FICA.
The accident took place at 10 a.m. on Friday
The accident took place shortly before 10 am and “he was to come and work with us at 10:30 am to prepare the 28th FICA”, they say in a statement, saying they are “devastated”. “It is thanks to your professionalism that the opening and closing ceremonies and the two hundred screenings of each edition were so successful,” they add in a letter of tribute. The prosecutor indicated that the owner of the device, who died in the accident, was 56 years old, and not 66, as initially indicated by the prefecture of Haute-Saône.
He announced the opening of a preliminary investigation for “manslaughter”, in order to determine the circumstances of the accident. The analyzes are entrusted to the Basel-Mulhouse air transport gendarmerie brigade, with the support of the research section of the Vélizy-Villacoublay air gendarmerie. The Samu and about twenty firefighters were also mobilized, according to the prefecture.
The Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) has also opened an investigation, said Emmanuel Dupic. The aircraft was discovered with its nose planted in the ground, in the grass, away from the runway. Aircraft traffic was interrupted.