Bordeaux-Mérignac

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Stuttgart - Bordeaux

MSN:

D117

YOM:

1971

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On approach to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport following an uneventful flight from Stuttgart-Echterdingen Airport, one of the engine failed. The aircraft lost height, struck power cables and crashed in a wooded area located in Eysines, few km short of runway 23 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed and all six occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

Engine failure for unknown reasons.

Crash of an Embraer EMB-120RT Brasília in Bordeaux: 16 killed

Date & Time: Dec 21, 1987 at 1510 LT

Type of aircraft:

Embraer EMB-120 Brasília

Operator:

Registration:

F-GEGH

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

SNCAC NC.701/702 Martinet

Schedule:

Brussels - Bordeaux

MSN:

120-033

YOM:

1986

Flight number:

AF1919

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

2394

Captain / Total hours on type:

101.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

1326

Copilot / Total hours on type:

215

Aircraft flight hours:

2505

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Brussels, the crew contacted Bordeaux Approach at 15:01 and was vectored for an ILS approach to runway 23. Visibility was poor with low clouds at 100 feet and a runway visual range (RVR) of between 650 and 350 metres. Flight 1919 crossed the KERAG beacon, the initial approach fix (IAF) at an altitude of FL144, at 15:04:40. Cloud base was still around 100 feet so the crew requested to enter a holding pattern to the south of the airport. The weather conditions slightly improved during the next few minutes and Bordeaux Approach reported a cloud base at 160 feet. Flight 1919 had not reached the holding pattern yet and the pilot decided to attempt to rejoin the ILS. At 15:06:38 the flight was cleared direct to the BD beacon and to descend down to 2000 feet. At the BD beacon, the flight was cleared for final approach and instructed to contact Bordeaux Tower. The airplane had overshot the centreline and was slightly right on the glidepath. Bordeaux Tower then instructed the flight to report over the Outer Marker, which was acknowledged by the captain. After crossing the Outer Marker, the airplane was still not properly established on the ILS. The airplane descended below the glideslope with the crew hurriedly deploying flaps and landing gear. The captain did not contact Bordeaux Tower as requested. Instead he took over control of the airplane, attempting to continue the approach. Both crew members had very little time to adapt to their new roles as the airplane was descending below the glide slope. The descent continued until the aircraft struck tree tops and crashed in the Eysines forrest, about 5 km short of runway. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 16 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was the direct result of poorly managed aircraft trajectory.
- The lack of vigilance with respect to altitude, by one pilot and then the other, when they were in a pilot-flying situation (PF, according to the Air Littoral Operations Manual) both when the aircraft descended out of the ILS beam through 2000 feet altitude and when it descended below 220 feet, the decision height.
- Inadequate coordination of tasks between the two pilots who formed the flight crew, neither of which had performed important tasks related to this function, such as monitoring and reporting ILS or altitude deviations, while in a nonpilot-flying situation (PNF, according to the same manual).

Final Report:

Crash of a SNCAC NC.701 Martinet in Bordeaux: 5 killed

Date & Time: Apr 29, 1963

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

120

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

MSN:

120

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

While taking off from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, the twin engine aircraft went out of control and crashed. Two passengers were seriously injured while five other occupants were killed.

Crash of a Douglas DC-7C in Bordeaux: 54 killed

Date & Time: Sep 24, 1959 at 2324 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas DC-7

Operator:

Registration:

F-BIAP

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Paris – Bordeaux – Bamako – Abidjan

MSN:

45366

YOM:

1957

Flight number:

TAI307

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

11704

Captain / Total hours on type:

479.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

10829

Copilot / Total hours on type:

312

Aircraft flight hours:

5844

Circumstances:

Shortly after a night takeoff from runway 23 at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, the aircraft followed a straight-in path but failed to gain sufficient height. After a short course, while at an altitude of about 100 feet, the four engine aircraft struck pine trees, stalled and crashed in flames in a wooded area located 1,050 meters past the runway end. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire and all 9 crew members and 45 passengers were killed. Eleven passengers were seriously injured.

Probable cause:

The Board considered that the accident was probably caused by the most unfavorable combination of several of the following factors:
- Failure of one or more engine,
- Wrong maneuver of the undercarriage or flaps,
- Malfunction of the control systems,
- Incident in the cockpit,
- False indication on one or more instruments,
- Wrong indication of the artificial horizon,
- Failure of the anemometer,
- Incorrect altimeter setting,
- Error in the variometer.
The reconstructed flight showed that during the first segment of climbout and during a very short critical phase, a slight increase in speed will produce a considerable decrease in rate of climb or even a slight loss of altitude. In view of the rapid sequence of cockpit operations during this phase, together with the rapid variation in flight parameters, and the lack of precision - even inaccuracy - of readings of certain instruments, and lacking time reference and external visual references, a pilot may follow a line of flight that will bring the aircraft back near the ground if, during this period, optimum climbing speed is not maintained and the altimeter is not carefully watched.

Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-50-DL in Bordeaux

Date & Time: Sep 21, 1955

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

F-BCYU

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Cargo

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Pau – Bordeaux

MSN:

10151

YOM:

1943

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

10898

Circumstances:

On approach to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, the crew encountered poor visibility due to fog. On final, the airplane was too low and hit the ground few hundred yards short of runway. All three crew members were injured while the aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
Serge Ponsot, pilot,
Yves Rolland, radio operator,
Maurice Yrissou, mechanic.

Crash of a Douglas C-54A-5-DC Skymaster in Bordeaux: 9 killed

Date & Time: Feb 7, 1953 at 1028 LT

Type of aircraft:

Douglas C-54 Skymaster

Operator:

Registration:

F-BFGR

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

Schedule:

Abidjan – Conakry – Dakar – Casablanca – Bordeaux – Paris

MSN:

10290

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

6878

Captain / Total hours on type:

1877.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

350

Copilot / Total hours on type:

Aircraft flight hours:

11250

Circumstances:

The final approach to Bordeaux-Mérignac was performed in foggy conditions. Due to low visibility, the flying crew did not realize that his altitude was insufficient when the four engine aircraft hit the top of pine trees, stalled and crashed in flames in a wooded area located in Eysines, north of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and nine occupants were killed, six crew members and three passengers.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the causes of the accident, listed in the chronological order of their occurrence, can be analyzed as follow:
- unfortunate initiative by the tower controller and a misjudgment by the pilot-in-command leading to an attempt to land in insufficient visibility,
- use of an attention-grabbing procedure by an excess of means for guiding in plan to the detriment of altitude safety,
- a probable wrong altimeter setting,
- wrong interpretation of the altitude vertical to the outer marker.
The fatigue of the flying crew resulting from an excessive period of duty and the discomfort caused by the presence in the cockpit of two additional crew members under training may have contributed to the occurrence.

Final Report:

Crash of a Douglas C-47A-5-DK near Mimizan

Date & Time: Apr 2, 1952

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

LN-NAE

Flight Phase:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Madrid – Bordeaux – Norrköping

MSN:

12372

YOM:

1944

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Madrid to Norrköping with an intermediate stop in Bordeaux, carrying a crew of six and 22 members of a Swedish football team. While descending to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in poor weather conditions, a technical failure occurred on one engine. The captain realized that it was not possible to reach the airport of Bordeaux so he reduced his altitude and attempted an emergency landing on a beach located three km north of Mimizan. The airplane belly landed on the sand beach, slid for dozen yards and came to rest partially submerged. All 28 occupants were evacuated safely while the aircraft was considered as damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Engine failure.

Crash of a Fairchild C-82A-FA Packet near Le Mont-Dore: 36 killed

Date & Time: Nov 13, 1951 at 1300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Fairchild C-82 Packet

Operator:

Registration:

45-57801

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Military

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Frankfurt – Bordeaux

MSN:

10171

YOM:

1945

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

After departure from Frankfurt-Main Airport, the crew was informed about strong winds blowing from the northwest up to 30 knots, on the route between Dijon and Bordeaux. The pilot-in-command continued his route in IFR Mode at the altitude of 6,000 feet. While cruising in marginal weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located near Le Mont-Dore, about 32 km southwest of Clermont-Ferrand. The airplane was destroyed upon impact and all 36 occupants were killed. It was reported that the visibility was estimated over 40 km below the cloud layer that was 6/8 at 1,000 meters. Nevertheless, the aircraft was off course to the south by 100 km at the time of the accident, probably due to strong winds. Also, the crew continued the flight at an altitude of 6,000 feet instead of the initial intended 8,000 feet.

Crash of a Vickers 639 Viking 1 in Bordeaux

Date & Time: May 8, 1951 at 1412 LT

Type of aircraft:

Vickers Viking

Operator:

Registration:

G-AHPD

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site: