Emergency directive formalises instruction from French manufacturer.
French-based single-engined trainer manufacturer Elixir Aircraft has grounded all its airframes following a fatal accident.
Investigations have been initiated to determine the cause of the crash.
The company has issued a service bulletin “grounding all Elixir aeroplanes”, says the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
EASA has formalised the grounding in a 2 October emergency directive.
It says it has “decided to suspend all flight operations” of the affected aircraft pending availability of more information.
While EASA has not given details of the accident which prompted the grounding, French newspaper Le Figaro reports that an Elixir aircraft suffered a serious malfunction and crashed at Rochefort military air base on 1 October.
Neither of the two pilots on board the two-seat aircraft, both employees of Elixir, survived the accident, it reports.
Based in La Rochelle, Elixir was founded in 2015 and manufactures its namesake aircraft with a “one-piece carbonfibre airframe”, offering the model in various configurations.
It produced 16 aircraft in the first half of this year, and some 60 are flying in Europe.
The company, in July, unveiled a €45 million ($51 million) funding round to accelerate its expansion and launch an all-new aircraft programme.
Elixir describes this new, larger aircraft, branded the Equinox, as the “natural next step” in its product line.
“It will build on the same technological foundations as the current Elixir,” says the company.
EASA’s directive states that, based on current information, further actions may be necessary to ensure the continued airworthiness of Elixir aircraft.
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