La Londe-les-Maures, France: A two-seat FK12 Comet ultralight biplane crashed in La Londe-les-Maures in southern France on 13 September 2026, killing retired French Air Force General Patrick Féron, 78, and his passenger, 58-year-old Anne-Marie Kessedjian, a senior midwife at Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël Hospital. The aircraft had departed Cuers aerodrome and came down about 20 km south of the departure point. French authorities have not yet determined why the aircraft crashed.
The aircraft was identified by Toulon prosecutor Raphaël Balland as an ULM FK12 Comet. Balland said, “the planned flight was expected to last 30 minutes. Reports say the aircraft crashed during the morning after travelling roughly 20 km from Cuers to La Londe-les-Maures. No destination beyond the local flight has been publicly identified in the reports reviewed, indicating that this was a local recreational/introductory flight rather than a scheduled journey to another airport.
Both occupants died in the accident. Féron was a retired Air Force general, former fighter pilot and former fighter-squadron commander. He had also served in charge of flight safety within the French Air Force. He was vice-president of Les Ailes de la Reconnaissance, an association based at Cuers that provides introductory flights to healthcare workers, firefighters and ambulance personnel as a gesture of recognition for their service.
Kessedjian, 58, was identified by French reports as a senior midwife at the Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël hospital. She was reportedly taking part in the association’s aviation activities for healthcare workers. The association was established in 2020 during the COVID-19 period and was created to offer complimentary introductory flights to healthcare professionals and other emergency-service personnel in the Var region. According to the organisation’s own website, its flights are conducted using biplanes and other aircraft made available by their owners.
Féron himself described his involvement with the organisation as a way of thanking healthcare workers. On the association’s website, he wrote that he had spent more than 50 years flying, first as a fighter pilot in the French Air Force and later as a professional pilot, and that he had made his biplane available to the association for flights for healthcare workers.
The Var prefecture said Féron’s death was a loss to the local community, describing him as an important figure in supporting healthcare workers. The prefecture said, “With the death of General Féron, the Var region has lost a figure who was committed to supporting healthcare workers.” The prefect also expressed condolences to the families and relatives of both victims.
The aircraft type involved is the FK12 Comet, a lightweight two-seat biplane. Aviation records identify the FK12 Comet with B&F Technik Vertriebs GmbH, based in Speyer, Germany, while the aircraft has also been associated with FK-Lightplanes. German certification documents list B&F Technik Vertriebs GmbH as the manufacturer of the FK 12 Comet, while the aircraft’s flight manual identifies FK Lightplanes in Krosno, Poland, as the manufacturer and B&F Technik as the type-support and product-rights organisation.
The accident aircraft’s individual registration, serial number, engine configuration and ownership details have not been identified in the reliable reports reviewed so far, so these details should not be added to the story until confirmed by the French investigation authorities or aircraft records.
The precise sequence leading to the crash also remains unclear. French reports state that the aircraft crashed for an as-yet undetermined reason after departing Cuers. There is currently no confirmed evidence in the available reporting that the accident was caused by an engine failure, structural failure, medical event, weather, pilot error or another specific factor. The crash mechanism therefore remains under investigation.
The judicial investigation has been assigned to the Air Transport Gendarmerie Brigade in Nice, while France’s Bureau of Investigation and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) has also attended the crash site for the technical investigation. An autopsy of the victims is to be conducted by the Marseille medico-legal institute. Authorities are investigating the circumstances and cause of the accident, and no particular cause has been publicly established at this stage.
The 13 September crash therefore remains an active investigation. The confirmed facts are that a two-seat FK12 Comet departed Cuers, crashed in La Londe-les-Maures about 20 km away, and both people aboard died. Investigators are now working to establish what happened during the flight and what caused the aircraft to come down.
