Eleven people are dead after a skydiving aircraft went down in eastern France on Sunday, reigniting questions about the safety standards governing British aviation companies operating abroad. The plane, a British-registered Pilatus PC-12, crashed shortly after takeoff from La Versanne airfield, near Grenoble, according to local prosecutors. All eight skydivers and three crew members on board were killed.
The aircraft was operated by UK-based firm Skydive Aventures, which had chartered the flight for a weekend jump event. Sources confirm that the company had faced two previous safety incidents in the past three years, including a 2021 hard landing that damaged the same aircraft. The French air accident investigation bureau has seized the flight data recorder.
But questions are mounting over why the Civil Aviation Authority did not ground the operator after the earlier mishap. Uncovered documents show that the CAA's own internal reports flagged 'systemic maintenance issues' at Skydive Aventures as early as 2022. Yet no enforcement action was taken.
One former CAA inspector, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me: 'They kicked the can down the road. They always do. It's cheaper to settle a lawsuit than to ground a fleet.
' The British government has offered technical assistance to the French investigation, but that feels like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Eleven families are now waiting for answers that should never have been necessary. This crash is not an isolated incident.
It follows a pattern of regulatory failure that prioritises industry profits over passenger safety. The CAA needs to explain why it allowed this operator to keep flying. And until it does, every jumper who boards a plane with a British registration should think twice.
