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Four Dead in Ariège Pyrenees Light-Plane Crash as Investigation Opens

Prosecutors have launched a judicial inquiry to determine what caused a single-engine club aircraft to go down.

Overview

  • The plane disappeared in the early evening on Sunday after departing from the Saint-Girons aero club in southwest Ariège.
  • The Saint-Girons club alerted the Lyon-based Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Center, which sent gendarmerie and civil-security helicopters to search.
  • A gendarmerie helicopter located the wreck in the Pyrénées and mountain rescuers confirmed the deaths of all four occupants.
  • Firefighters and gendarmes combed the area on the ground as access to the crash site in the Bethmale sector proved difficult.
  • Identities have not been released, with unconfirmed reports suggesting an instructor and three students were aboard, and the cause remains undetermined with no notable weather hazards reported.