Algiers

Flight Type:

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Schedule:

Algiers – Marseille

MSN:

YOM:

1930

Location:

Balearic Islands

Country:

Spain

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Algiers at 0645LT bound for Marseille. En route, while cruising 75 km off the Balearic Islands, the crew encountered engine problems and was forced to ditch the aircraft. Both uninjured aviators were rescued at 1330LT by the crew of the ship named 'Timgad'. The aircraft sank and was lost.
Crew:
Jean Mermoz, pilot,
Lucien Rémier, radio navigator.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a CAMS 56 in the Mediterranean Sea: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 9, 1931 at 0930 LT

Type of aircraft:

CAMS 56

Operator:

Registration:

F-AIOX

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Flight Type:

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Schedule:

Marseille – Algiers

MSN:

YOM:

1928

Location:

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Circumstances:

En route from Marseille to Algiers, the engine failed, forcing the crew to ditch the aircraft some 165 kilometers off Algiers at 0930LT. The crew was able to converse until 1155LT when the radio contact was lost. SAR operations were initiated but eventually suspended on December 17 as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. An empty liferaft was found few days later some 30 kilometers west of Algiers. On January 18, 1932, a herdsman found the dead body of the pilot on a beach located near Philippeville.
Crew:
Jean Champsaur, pilot,
René Bourguignon, radionavigator.

Probable cause:

It is believed that the engine caught fire in-flight following the failure of a hydraulic line.

Crash of a Latécoère 32/3 off Banyuls-sur-Mer: 1 killed

Date & Time: Feb 24, 1931

Type of aircraft:

Latécoère 32

Operator:

Registration:

F-AITX

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Schedule:

Algiers – Marseille

MSN:

YOM:

1928

Location:

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Circumstances:

The crew encountered strong headwinds all along the flight from Algiers to Marseille. After overflying Cape of Creus in Catalonia, both engines failed due to fuel exhaustion. The crew ditched the aircraft off Banyuls-sur-Mer, Pyrénées Orientales. The crew of the Spanish cargo named 'Stella' was quickly on the scene but during the towing operations, the float plane sank and the radio navigator Bossard drowned. The pilot Edmond Larbonne and the mechanic were rescued.

Probable cause:

Double engine failure caused by a fuel exhaustion due to strong headwinds in flight.

Crash of a CAMS 53-1 in the Mediterranean Sea

Date & Time: Sep 11, 1930

Type of aircraft:

CAMS 53

Operator:

Registration:

F-AJKF

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Site:

Schedule:

Marseille – Algiers

MSN:

YOM:

1929

Location:

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Circumstances:

One hour after his departure from Marseille, the crew experienced an engine failure and was forced to ditch the aircraft. All three occupants were rescued by the crew of the Spanish ship named 'Helius' while the aircraft, trying to be towed, sank and was lost.
Crew:
Mr. de Visa, pilot,
Maurice Thomasset, radio navigator,
Mr. Mailland, mechanic.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a CAMS 53/1 off Pointe Pescade

Date & Time: May 4, 1930 at 1205 LT

Type of aircraft:

CAMS 53

Operator:

Registration:

F-AJKB

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

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Schedule:

Marseille – Algiers

MSN:

YOM:

1929

Location:

Algiers

Country:

Algeria

Region:

Africa

Crew on board:

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Circumstances:

The aircraft departed Marseille at 0813LT on a mail flight to Algiers. At 1040LT, the crew reported his position along the Balearic coast. Around noon, while approaching the Algerian coast, the pilot sent a brief message and announced he was forced to attempt an emergency landing off Cape of Pointe Pescade, some 30 km northwest of Algiers, due to an engine failure. All three crew members were uninjured and rescued around 1600LT by the crew of ship named 'Colonel Casse'. The aircraft sank and was lost.
Crew:
Mr. De Visa, pilot,
Maurice Thomasset, radio navigator,
Albin Pinot, mechanic.

Probable cause:

An engine failed in flight due to an oil leak.

Crash of a Farman F.192 near El Quit

Date & Time: Apr 22, 1930 at 1215 LT

Type of aircraft:

Farman F.190

Operator:

Marcel Goulette

Registration:

F-AJJB

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Antananarivo – Elisabethville – Luluabourg – Brazzaville – Bangui – Fort Archambault – Kano – Niamey – Gao – Algiers – Paris

MSN:

7159

YOM:

1929

Location:

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Circumstances:

The crew was returning to France after completing the first flight from France to Madagascar and the Reunion Island in December 1929. The aircraft departed Gao at 1015LT bound for the north. It overflew Tabankort then the crew planned to make a fuel stop at El Quit where a quantity of 220 liters of fuel was hidden in the sand. Some 30 km before the destination, the engine failed. The crew attempted an emergency landing when, on touchdown, the left main gear collapsed and ripped the fuselage on the left side, shearing off the left wing as well. All three crew were unhurt but the aircraft was abandoned on site. All three occupants were rescued and evacuated six days later, on 28APR1930, by members of the Compagnie Générale Transafricaine, and arrived in France on 05MAY1930. The airplane was eventually recovered 80 years later and repatriated to Paris where it was repaired and displayed at the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Paris-Le Bourget Airport.
Crew:
Marcel Goulette, pilot,
René Marchesseau, pilot,
Jean-Michel Bourgeois, mechanic.

Probable cause:

Engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of a CAMS 56 off Cape Bear: 3 killed

Date & Time: Feb 9, 1930

Type of aircraft:

CAMS 56

Operator:

Registration:

F-AIOY

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Marseille – Algiers

MSN:

YOM:

1929

Location:

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Region:

Crew on board:

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Pax on board:

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Circumstances:

While cruising off the French coast on a mail flight from Marseille to Algiers, the crew encountered an engine failure. The pilot attempted to make an emergency landing off the Cape Bear but the sea was very rough. The aircraft crashed on landing and rescuers were grounded due to poor weather conditions. All operations were eventually suspended and no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was ever found.
Crew:
Robert Raynal, pilot,
Robert Languille, radio navigator,
Mr. Traverse, mechanic.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a CAMS 53/1 off the Balearic Islands

Date & Time: Dec 24, 1929

Type of aircraft:

CAMS 53

Operator:

Registration:

F-AJJQ

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Marseille – Algiers

MSN:

YOM:

1929

Location:

Balearic Islands

Country:

Spain

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

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Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

En route from Marseille to Algiers and while approaching the Balearic Islands, the crew encountered an engine failure. The pilot Max Ringel ditched the aircraft in the Mediterranean Sea. All three crew members were rescued. The aircraft sank was lost. Brand new, it was delivered 30 November 1929.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a Latécoère 32/3 in the Mediterranean Sea

Date & Time: Nov 7, 1929

Type of aircraft:

Latécoère 32

Operator:

Registration:

F-AJBK

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

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