Coupe Icare fined for 2015 fatal accident

Organisers of the Coupe Icare have been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter by a French court in the wake of a fatal accident at the famous free-flying festival in 2015.

According to French media the Grenoble Criminal Court has ruled that a former director of the Coupe Icare and the association organising the event were responsible for the accidental death of a young hang glider pilot, Thibault Demange, aged 30.

Thibault was a skilled competition hang glider pilot and a member of the French team. He was flying at the Coupe Icare 2015 as a display pilot.

The accident happened at around 1.40pm on Sunday 20 September 2015. According to reports from the time he was attempting to loop his glider but ended up tumbling on the second loop. His reserve was deployed but it was caught in the hang glider and he crashed about 150m into the ground, almost hitting a building. He did not survive the crash.

Now, nearly 10 years after the fatal accident the director of the Coupe Icare at the time has been fined €5,000 and given an eight-month suspended sentence. The organisation has been fined €20,000, including €5,000 suspended. The organisation was prosecuted as a legal entity.

According to a report in Le Dauphiné, a local news website, the original case against the organisation was dismissed. However a civil action was then filed by Thibault’s parents.

At a hearing held on 4 February this year the debate centred around the authorisation given to pilots to take off and if the weather conditions were suitable for flying. Sentences were handed down on 18 February.

A representative of the Coupe Icare said: “Unfortunately it is a bit early to comment or discuss the situation. The members of the Coupe Icare Board of Directors will meet to decide on the next steps following this judgment.”

The Coupe Icare is the world’s biggest free-flight festival and is held each September in St Hilaire du Touvet, near Grenoble.

It is organised as a non-profit association created in 1989. It employs only one full time employee and two part-time employees, according to its website. The organising committee is made up of 30 volunteers and the event itself relies on 1,300 volunteers.

The Coupe Icare is most famous for its flying masquerade, which attracts thousands of spectators who come to watch paraglider and hang glider pilots take off dressed in fancy dress.

Free flying is strictly controlled during the event, with air space reserved for the display flights and display pilots.

The 2015 Coupe Icare was notable for a storm that hit the festival on its first day. Wind gusts of 100km/h damaged the cinema tent and tore a hole in the roof of one of the main trade marquees. Ahead of the festival organisers said at the time that they expected 700 display pilots from 18 light aviation disciplines to take part in display flights over the long weekend.