A 70-year-old pilot from Vendée was killed on Tuesday in the crash of his small airport near Valmeinier, in Savoie.

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PASSEMARD / CL2P / SIPA

A 70-year-old man was found dead Tuesday morning in Savoy in the crash of his autogyro, an aircraft resembling a small helicopter, the day after his disappearance, mountain rescue services said.

Monday afternoon, the septuagenarian had not returned after taking off from an altiport in Valloire and one of his friends sounded the alert around 5 p.m.

The emergency services searched for him all evening using three helicopters, without success.

A "seasoned" pilot

Tuesday, shortly after 8 a.m. CRS rescuers, aboard a helicopter from the Modane gendarmerie, found the wreckage and the body of the pilot at an altitude of 2,200 meters near the town of Valmeinier, about five kilometers away. bird's eye view of the take-off location.

Originally from Vendée, the pilot of this autogyro was "experienced" and used to fly in this steep sector of the Alps.

The weather conditions were good and the cause of the accident remains unknown for the moment, explained to AFP Major Deléglise, of the CRS d'Albertville, who coordinated the rescue.

The Albertville prosecutor's office has opened an investigation.

Society

Lot-et-Garonne: One dead in the crash of an autogyro, a small propeller-driven aircraft

Two dead in an aircraft crash

  • Crash

  • Society

  • Mountain

  • Accident