An incredible plane crash took place on the evening of August 15, 2024 in Montauban, in Tarn-et-Garonne. The aircraft caught fire while approaching the runway of the city of Ingres airfield. The experienced pilot managed to land the aircraft before leaving the cockpit. He is miraculously unharmed.
It is a miracle, but not only… An incredible and extremely rare plane crash took place on Thursday evening, August 15, in the sky above Montauban, the prefectural city of Tarn-et-Garonne. In firemen's memory, I hadn't even seen that. But in the end, thanks to the remarkable calmness of the pilot of the aircraft, the aircraft managed to land on the runway of the local airfield. And the man inside the passenger compartment, very psychologically injured, does not suffer any physical injury.
The script is worthy of a movie. At 7:00 p.m., the Tarn-et-Garonne departmental fire and rescue operational center (Codis 82) received a call for an aircraft fire, as reported by the group chief of firefighters present at the scene. “Witnesses saw a plane on fire above their heads. They immediately had the right reflex,” the officer emphasizes. Immediately, two vans and a lance set off for the airfield, which is normally the aircraft's landing point. In total, ten personnel are mobilized for this operation.
A loss of speed observed by the pilot
“He went to Quiberon (Morbihan) this [jeudi] in the morning at 11:30 sharp,” explains a pilot friend, still upset about what had just happened to his colleague, “But the weather conditions were not favorable, so he made the return trip to the approach of Montauban, technically , the experienced pilot had no particular problem But things got tough between Fumel (Lot-et-Garonne) and the town of Ingres.
According to his account, the pilot, Jean-Marc*, then felt an abnormal loss of speed. “But he wouldn't have understood immediately that a fire had started at the back of the aircraft, where the engine is,” says another person at the scene. “When I called him on the radio to check on him, he said he had a big problem, I immediately took the car and arrived five minutes later,” continued the friend of the miracle worker. “Jean-Marc* absolutely insisted on landing on the runway because with this type of aircraft there were greater risks in a field,” explains a third witness.
Plane cut in two by fire
Once landed, still high on adrenaline, the pilot starts looking for a fire extinguisher to try to limit the damage. Meanwhile, the firemen arrive and deploy their hoses. The plane is cut in two. The engine piece broke off and continued to burn on the right side of the runway.
The cockpit, however, suffered no major damage. He was evacuated by tractor by members of the local Aeroclub. The remains of the engine, once completely consumed, joined the rest of the aircraft at the edge of the runway, hidden behind a warehouse.
The healthy pilot
In addition to the firefighters, the national police were sent to the scene to ensure the security of the operation. The first deputy mayor of the city of Montauban, Marie-Claude Berly, on duty on August 15, also traveled to assure the members of the flying club and the emergency personnel mobilized with her support.
Once on land, Jean-Marc* was able to contact his loved ones to give them a brief account of his misfortune. But also and above all to ensure their good health. This Thursday night, he definitely won't fall asleep right away. But he will not close his eyes forever. And this is the main thing.