Crash pilot dies avoiding homes
Skydivers parachute to safety as Cessna spirals out of control during jump, but pilot remains at controls as it crashes in field
A PILOT has died after he stayed at the controls of his crashing aircraft to make sure it did not hit homes.
Eric Fradin, 47, was flying a Cessna 206 taking a group of five parachutists from the Para Club of Tarbes on a jump.
Two of the parachutists jumped at 1,000m, and the plane had climbed to 3,000m when the plane started to spiral out of control. The three other parachutists jumped from the plane but Mr Fradin - who could also have ejected at this stage - chose to remain at the controls to steer the plane away from homes, missing them by 30 metres, coming down in a field near the autoroute.
The president of the Para Club of Tarbes Geoffroy Lagarde praised the bravery and professionalism of the pilot. Mr Lagarde said "the pilot had performed the procedures to stop the plane catching fire, cutting the electrics and steering the plane so it corkscrewed towards the fields."
“We saw from the ground what he did, he was at the controls to recover the plane and avoid the houses,” one witness told the Dépêche du midi.
Mr Fradin, who worked at Airbus and lived in Toulouse, had received military training.
An investigation into the crash has been launched. A flap was found some distance from the crash site, suggesting a mechanical failure.
Photo: A Cessna 206 - similar to that which crashed
