At about 11:30 am on Friday 28 February 2025, a single engine aircraft crash landed on the Mont Blanc massif. The two occupants survived the crash.
The impact was on the glacier de Geant, at the point where this huge glacier works it way around the Grand Rognan. This is very close to the main descent route for the popular Valley Blanche ski run.
The Grand Rognan is a way point for the Panoramic Mont-Blanc cable car. It is not known if the aircraft made contact with the cables before the crash landing.
Skiers descending the Valley Blanche route were witnesses to the crash. No skiers were injured.
The impact was moderate suggesting a forced landing. The aircraft is damaged but not destroyed.
The single engine aircraft had taken off from the nearby Altiport at Megeve. Onboard there was the pilot and one passenger. They were both injured in the impact. The pilot suffered a serious but not life threatening injury and was flown by helicopter to the Hospital in Annecy. The passenger suffered only minor injuries and was flown by helicopter to the hospital in Sallanches.
The cause of this crash is not yet known, but it certainly was an accident, as there is no available authority to land an aircraft on this glacier; though on other glaciers elsewhere in the Alps, the authority to land an aircraft can be obtained.
The aircraft will remain at the crash site, in the heart of the Mont-Blanc massif, at more than 3,400 meters above sea level, while the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety conducts an investigation.
Le Dauphiné
