The crash site and the four bodies were located following aerial and ground searches conducted by gendarmerie and civil security teams.

Access to the crash site proved difficult; the gendarmerie helicopter located the site and rescuers were deployed, but only the deaths of all four occupants were confirmed.

Authorities have opened an inquiry into the incident, with the public prosecutor’s office notified as part of the investigation.

The prosecutor’s office was formally informed as the inquiry began.

The Saint-Girons flying club alerted the Lyon Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre, which organized the deployment of two helicopters—one from the gendarmerie and one from civil security—for the search.

The aircraft, a single-engine light plane commonly used by flight clubs, was located in the Pyrenees on Sunday evening.

Rescue operations combined aerial and ground teams, coordinated by the prefecture, firefighters, and gendarmes.

This report is presented as a live Le Monde update with AFP as the source.

Four people died in a light aircraft crash in the Ariège region on Sunday, December 7, 2025, with the wreckage and bodies found after searches.

Local authorities and the national rescue coordination body mobilized resources for the search and response.