Thys Limburg

Socata TBM-700

Towards the end of a flight from Brussels to Oxford (Kidlington), the pilot was cleared to land from a visual straight-in approach to Runway 01. The surface wind was reported as 030°/15 kt. As the aircraft crossed the airfield boundary, it started to roll to the left. Shortly after, it struck the ground to the west of the runway threshold. Despite an extensive investigation, no technical malfunction was identified which could have caused the apparent uncontrolled roll to the left. Although there was no other conclusive evidence which would explain the manoeuvre, it is possible that control of the aircraft was lost during application of power to adjust the flight path or in an attempted late go-around, or as a result of an unknown distraction. The passengers was the French businessman Paul-Louis Halley, CEO of Carrefour, accompanied by his wife. They were en route to England to take part to a wedding.