A retired Air Force general and a hospital midwife were killed after a small biplane crashed in southern France during what was meant to be a special flight honoring healthcare workers.
The crash happened Sunday morning, Sept. 13, near La Londe-les-Maures in the Var region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, along the French Riviera.
Authorities identified the pilot as Patrick Féron, a retired general in the French Air and Space Force and a former fighter pilot. He was not a former U.S. Air Force general, as some early reports suggested.
Féron was flying with Anne-Marie Kessedjian, a senior midwife at the Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël hospital, when the aircraft went down. Both were killed.
The two-seat biplane had taken off from the Cuers airfield at around 10 a.m. and crashed roughly 12 miles south in La Londe-les-Maures.
The planned flight was expected to last about 30 minutes, but the crash reportedly happened around 15 minutes after takeoff. Witnesses said the departure appeared normal. No additional victims were reported on the ground.
Féron served as vice president of Les Ailes de la Reconnaissance, or “Wings of Recognition,” a nonprofit aviation group founded in 2020 following the COVID-19 crisis.
The organization offers free sightseeing flights to healthcare workers, firefighters and ambulance personnel as a way of thanking them for their public service. Kessedjian was reportedly taking part in one of those appreciation flights when the tragedy occurred.
Féron had an extensive military aviation career.
He trained as a fighter pilot on the Jaguar, commanded the EC 3/3 Ardennes fighter squadron and participated in Operation Tacaud in Mauritania. He later headed the French Air Force’s flight safety office.
Over the course of his career, he flew aircraft including the Jaguar and Mirage 2000.
After retiring from the military in 2001, Féron continued flying professionally and became chief pilot for the aerial work company Action-Air in Cuers.
Les Ailes de la Reconnaissance listed Féron as both its vice president and a pilot of the Comet FK12 biplane.
Daniel Muraro, president of the organization, said there had been no obvious warning signs before the flight.
He said the airplane was in good condition, had fuel and was flying in favorable weather. Féron had also reportedly flown the previous day without any problems.
“Everything was going very well,” Muraro said. “Then he took off and didn’t come back.”
The cause of the crash remains unknown.
French authorities have opened an investigation, which has been assigned to the Nice aviation transport gendarmerie brigade. Investigators are expected to examine the aircraft and flight conditions to determine what caused the plane to go down.
The Var fire department responded to the crash scene, though officials have released few additional details about the circumstances surrounding the wreck.
The Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël hospital initially said it wanted to notify staff members before making any public statement about Kessedjian’s death.
The loss has hit especially hard because the flight was connected to an organization built around thanking people who work in healthcare and emergency services.
Féron died doing what he had spent much of his life doing — flying — while taking part in a mission intended to honor others.
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