Crash of a Lockheed L-749A Constellation on Mt Cemet: 42 killed
Date & Time:
Sep 1, 1953 at 2330 LT
Operator:
Registration:
F-BAZZ
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Paris – Nice – Beirut – Baghdad – Karachi – Calcutta – Saigon
MSN:
2674
YOM:
1951
Flight number:
AF147
Crew on board:
9
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
33
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
42
Circumstances:
The airplane left Paris-Orly in good weather conditions. However, few minutes later, the crew was informed about few turbulences over the Alps. While cruising by night at an altitude of 9,500 feet, the four engine aircraft hit the slope of Mt Cemet or Mt Cimet (3,020 meters high) located about 8 km northeast of Allos, in the department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. The wreckage was found at the altitude of 2,870 meters, about 150 meters below the summit. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 42 occupants were killed, among them the French violinist Jacques Thibaud and the French composer René Herbin.
Crew:
Jacques Tranoy, pilot,
Jacques Calmette, copilot,
Robert Mathis, radio navigator,
M. Fontaine, mechanic,
Jean-Marie Christophe, mechanic,
Monique Perret, stewardess,
Jean Menard, steward,
Rémy Lebars, steward,
Charles Delhomme, steward.
Crew:
Jacques Tranoy, pilot,
Jacques Calmette, copilot,
Robert Mathis, radio navigator,
M. Fontaine, mechanic,
Jean-Marie Christophe, mechanic,
Monique Perret, stewardess,
Jean Menard, steward,
Rémy Lebars, steward,
Charles Delhomme, steward.
Probable cause:
At the time of the accident, the aircraft was not following the track that has been assigned and was off course for unknown reason. It was understood that the airplane deviated from the prescribed flight plan, maybe following a navigation error, but this was not determined with certainty. Thus, the accident is the result of a controlled flight into terrain.
