Overview
- A single-engine Elixir Aircraft crashed at Rochefort-Saint-Agnant on Thursday, October 1, 2026, and both pilots on board died.
- The aircraft came to rest inside the perimeter of Base aérienne 721 next to the civil aerodrome, and military personnel were first to reach the scene.
- Elixir Aircraft confirmed the deaths in a company statement and said president Arthur Léopold-Léger went to the site to coordinate with authorities and support families.
- The Parquet de La Rochelle has opened an inquiry and investigators from the brigade de gendarmerie des transports aériens in Mérignac are conducting on-site inquiries; no definitive cause has been reported.
- Elixir, a Rochefort-based maker of light composite planes that employs about 240 people, faces both an internal probe and official safety inquiries that could affect its production and testing procedures.