Coupe Icare 2026 ends in tragedy

The 2026 Coupe Icare ended in tragedy on Sunday when a tandem hang glider crashed almost immediately after launch, killing both pilot and passenger.

The pilot was Rhal Ssan, a 29-year-old male pilot from the UK who lived permanently in France. The female passenger was named by French media as Nadège Chiffot, 45, from Chauffailles in Saône-et-Loire in eastern France.

Rhal was born in London and was a BBC-trained journalist who had worked for Euronews in Lyon and as an English teacher in nearby Grenoble. He was a regular at the Coupe Icare, and had been involved as a volunteer for the last seven years. French media reported that Nadège was a trainee hang glider pilot.

The accident happened at around 8am on Sunday 20 September, when recreational hang glider and paraglider pilots were taking part in an early morning top-to-bottom flight while hot-air balloons rose from the valley floor below.

This ‘balloon flight’ can be one of the highlights for free-flight pilots flying at the Coupe Icare, the world’s largest free-flight festival, and this year it was strictly coordinated, with pilot numbers limited.

Both paraglider and hang glider pilots had to pre-register to take part, and a flight director and launch marshals were coordinating the flights.

Paraglider pilots launched from the South Launch (960m AMSL), with the launch window opening shortly after 7.30am. A detailed briefing was given to pilots ahead of the flight, explaining the flight restrictions – to stay a minimum of 150m away from the balloons – and where to land.

Hang gliders launched from St Hilaire’s dedicated hang glider launch, about 1km southwest of the South Launch at about 1,000m AMSL.

The first hang glider launched around 7.40am, with a handful of paragliders – including three members of the Cross Country editorial team – following soon after. Conditions on launch were nil-wind, or with a slight tail wind.

Visibility was clear, and conditions were good for an early morning “sled ride” to the bottom. In the air, conditions were benign, with no thermic lift.

The accident happened at around 8am, after three or four hang gliders and around 10 paragliders had already launched safely.

According to organisers, the tandem hang glider crashed immediately after launch. “They took off and hit the cliff three seconds later.”

The cliff is a sheer limestone wall and although the reserve was deployed the pilots and wreckage came to rest on a ledge on the cliff several hundred feet lower.

Both paraglider and hang glider launches were closed immediately and an emergency helicopter was called “right away”.

To ensure the air was clear for the emergency helicopter the hot air balloons in the valley descended and landed, and the launches and official landing zone were marked by a red X – to indicate the LZ was closed.

In the landing zone a red smoke flare was released to indicate to those in the air, ‘Danger – Fly Away’.

The emergency helicopter approached the crash site at around 8.45am.

A Coupe Icare spokesperson said “Once they got on the cliff – and it is a really remote area – they could only see that nothing could be done.”

Following the accident the famous flying masquerade planned for the Sunday was cancelled. Some fancy-dress pilots were allowed to complete their planned flights wearing a black armband. The president of the Coupe Icare spoke to the public at about 1pm, and a minute’s silence was held across the site for Rhal and Nadège.

An investigation has been opened by the Grenoble public prosecutor’s office and entrusted to the Isère PGHM (Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne). It will aim to determine the exact circumstances of the accident.

The Coupe Icare is the world’s largest free-flight festival and has been running for the last 50 years. Held in late-September each year, it showcases all forms of free-flight – paragliding, paramotoring, hang gliding and more.

Hang gliding and paragliding in France are overseen by the FFVL. While there are some 35,000 registered paraglider pilots in France, there are only around 600 registered hang glider pilots.