Paris-Le Bourget | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives

The twin engine aircraft was returning to Paris following a charter flight from Torino-Caselle Airport, carrying four journalists, a member of the AFP Agency and two pilots. On final approach to Paris-Le Bourget runway 07 by night, the crew encountered limited visibility due to foggy conditions. Apparently in an attempt to establish a visual contact with the approach lights, the crew failed to realize his altitude was too low when the aircraft struck the roof of a warehouse and crashed in Garges-lès-Gonesse, less than 2 km short of runway 07 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and all seven occupants were killed.

Crash of a Rockwell Grand Commander 690B in Eastbourne: 9 killed

Date & Time: Nov 13, 1984 at 1841 LT

Type of aircraft:

Rockwell Grand Commander 690

Operator:

Flight Line - Ireland

Registration:

EI-BGL

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Dublin - Paris

MSN:

690-11507

YOM:

1977

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

10256

Captain / Total hours on type:

150.00

Aircraft flight hours:

2390

Circumstances:

The aircraft was flying from Dublin to Paris (Le Bourget) at a height of 25,000 feet. In the area of Petersfield, Hampshire, the aircraft began a gentle turn to the left from a south easterly heading. After the radar controller queried the departure from the expected heading the commander reported that the autopilot had 'dropped out', and the south easterly heading was resumed. Approximately 7 minutes later, the radar recording shows that the aircraft again began to turn left and started to lose height. After the aircraft had reached a northerly heading it began to lose height rapidly following which secondary radar returns were lost and the primary returns became fragmented before they also disappeared. The aircraft suffered an in-flight disintegration at approximately 19,000 feet and all 9 occupants were killed. A positive cause of the accident was not determined but there was evidence that a part of the aircraft's electrical supply had been lost. This would have caused the autopilot to disengage and also have resulted in the failure of the commander's flight director indicator. It was concluded that, following the disengagement of the autopilot, the aircraft probably entered a steep spiral dive and that the disintegration of the aircraft occurred as recovery was attempted.

Probable cause:

The in-flight disintegration of the aircraft was probably caused by over-stressing during an attempted recovery from an extreme attitude in a spiral dive. A probable contributory factor was the commander's lack of awareness of the loss of the 26 volt AC supply to the autopilot and flight director system.

Final Report:

Crash of a Partenavia P.68C in Strasbourg: 2 killed

Date & Time: Nov 7, 1983 at 1135 LT

Type of aircraft:

Partenavia P.68

Operator:

Registration:

HB-LNK

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Strasbourg - Paris

MSN:

224

YOM:

1982

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

700

Captain / Total hours on type:

187.00

Aircraft flight hours:

193

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport on a private flight to Paris-Le Bourget, carrying one pilot and one passenger. After takeoff from runway 23, while in initial climb, the aircraft crossed the clouds twice then entered a nose-down attitude and crashed one km from the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and both occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The loss of control seems to be essentially due to the spatial disorientation from which the pilot must have suffered when entering the cloud layer only a few seconds after rotation, disorientation which led him to follow an erratic trajectory both in heading and in altitude. This disorientation can be explained by the pilot's non-qualification for IFR flights and his lack of experience in IMC conditions. The assumption of a malfunction of the autopilot system causing the aircraft to perform inappropriate maneuvers that the pilot would have been unable to counter cannot be ruled out, although the pilot was aware of the dysfunction of this equipment.

Final Report:

Crash of a Learjet 35 in Paris

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1982 at 1200 LT

Type of aircraft:

Learjet 35

Operator:

Transair Switzerland

Registration:

HB-VFO

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

Schedule:

Paris - Geneva

MSN:

35-184

YOM:

1978

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

During the takeoff roll at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, at V1 speed, the airplane collided with a flock of seagulls. The crew immediately abandoned the takeoff maneuver and initiated an emergency braking procedure. Unable to stop within the remaining distance, the aircraft overran, struck a perimeter fence and came to rest 56 meters past the runway end. All four occupants escaped with minor injuries and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

It was determined that the bird strike occurred at V1 speed. The decision of the crew to abandon the takeoff maneuver was correct but the airspeed was too high to expect the aircraft to stop within the remaining distance. The engines were not damaged as no birds were ingested but the aircraft suffered excessive structural damages and was considered as damaged beyond repair. The crew reaction was adequate despite the fact that they failed to follow certain procedures related to an emergency takeoff interruption, the tail parachute not having been deployed and the emergency brakes not having been activated.

Crash of a Rockwell Grand Commander 690B near Auxerre: 5 killed

Date & Time: Feb 21, 1981

Type of aircraft:

Rockwell Grand Commander 690

Operator:

Registration:

D-IKOC

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Lyon - Paris

MSN:

690B-11498

YOM:

1977

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine airplane departed Lyon-Bron Airport on a taxi flight to Paris-Le Bourget. En route, it went out of control and crashed in unknown circumstances in an open field located near Auxerre. All five occupants were killed.

Crash of a Boeing 707-321C near Agadir: 188 killed

Date & Time: Aug 3, 1975 at 0425 LT

Type of aircraft:

Boeing 707

Operator:

Registration:

JY-AEE

Flight Phase:

Landing (descent or approach)

Flight Type:

Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Paris – Agadir

MSN:

18767/376

YOM:

1964

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

181

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

188

Aircraft flight hours:

39749

Circumstances:

On behalf of Royal Air Maroc, the aircraft was completing a charter flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Agadir, carrying 181 Moroccan workers and their family members back for holidays. Following an uneventful flight, the crew contacted ATC and was cleared to start the descent. At an altitude of 2,400 feet, the right wing struck a rocky peak. On impact, the engine n°4 was torn off. The crew increased engine power and the airplane flew for about 400 meters before it disintegrated in a small valley. The wreckage was found few hours later about 40 km north of Agadir-Inezgane Airport. None of the 188 occupants survived the crash.

Probable cause:

The aircraft was descending at a too low altitude and was approaching Agadir-Inezgane Airport on a wrong track, resulting in a controlled flight into terrain. Lack of visibility due to the night and local patches of fog as well as lack of visual references on the ground were considered as contributing factors.

Crash of a Beechcraft C99 in Auvers-sur-Oise

Date & Time: Aug 31, 1973

Type of aircraft:

Beechcraft 99 Airliner

Operator:

Avia-Taxi

Registration:

F-BSRZ

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Paris - Paris

MSN:

U-19

YOM:

1968

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew departed Paris-Le Bourget on a local post maintenance test flight. En route, technical problems forced the crew to attempt an emergency landing. The aircraft belly landed in a field and came to rest. While both occupants escaped uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Crash of a Tupolev TU-144S in Goussainville: 14 killed

Date & Time: Jun 3, 1973 at 1529 LT

Type of aircraft:

Tupolev TU-144

Operator:

Registration:

CCCP-77102

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Demonstration

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Paris - Paris

MSN:

01-2

YOM:

1972

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The supersonic airplane was engaged in a demonstration flight during the 'Paris Air Show'. Following a low pass over runway 03 at an altitude of 190 meters for about one km, the crew increased engine power and initiated a steep climb till the altitude of 1,200 meters. Then the airplane started to descent and four second after it reached the altitude of 750 meters on descent, the airplane rolled to the left at an angle of 40° with positive g loads of 4 to 4,5 g. At an altitude of 280 meters and a speed of 780 km/h, the front left wing detached, struck the left main wing and punctured the fuel tank. Out of control, the airplane disintegrated in the air and crashed in flames in Goussainville. All six occupants were killed as well as eight people on the ground. 28 other people were injured, some of them seriously. Several houses were destroyed.

Probable cause:

On 28 July 1974, French and Soviet experts confirmed in the final report that no anomaly could be found in the construction or operation of the aircraft and that the intervention of a human was therefore the greatest probability to explain the accident. Nearly 25 years later, members of the commission of inquiry revealed some elements about the crash after archives have been open to public. In the morning of the accident, a Mirage III fighter aircraft of the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) took off from Strasbourg and the crew was asked to perform some aerial photos of the Tupolev during its low pass over Le Bourget Airport. By the time the Tupolev crew was at an altitude of about 500 meters, the Mirage was positioned about 200 meters above him and slightly ahead of him. According to investigations, the presence of this fighter likely distracted the crew of the Tupolev who felt that the distance of separation between both aircraft was insufficient. After a few seconds, the crew of the Mirage III was instructed to evacuate the zone (the procedure at that time was that each aircraft performing a demonstration at the Bourget Air Show must respect a minimum of 8 km of 'free' area). When the Mirage pilots made a turn to the left, the Mirage naturally seemed bigger to the Tupolev crew. As a result, the pilot-in-command of the supersonic positioned the aircraft in a slight pitch attitude during which a negative aerodynamic force of one g was recorded. As a result, a structural failure occurred on the left wing, which caused the aircraft to roll on its back, to brake in two parts and to explode in the air. It was later confirmed that the Tupolev TU-144 was designed to support a positive force of five to seven g but a negative force of one g only. In the present case, the negative force having been reached, a structural failure occurred. It was also confirmed that the Soviet pilots made this maneuver to avoid the collision with the Mirage. However, given the position of each aircraft at that time, a collision was impossible.

Crash of a Cessna 401 in Die: 2 killed

Date & Time: Aug 31, 1971 at 1300 LT

Type of aircraft:

Cessna 401

Operator:

Registration:

F-BRPU

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Private

Survivors:

Site:

Mountains

Schedule:

Paris - Cannes

MSN:

401-0127

YOM:

1968

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The twin engine aircraft departed Paris-Le Bourget Airport at 1123LT bound for Cannes, carrying a passenger, the CEO of Laboratoires UPSA Camille Bru, and a pilot. While flying over Drôme at an altitude of 3,000 meters in good weather conditions, the airplane collided with a Robin DR-308 registered F-BSLO. The pilot, sole on board, departed Gap Airfield at 1230LT bound for Chartres via Moulins, towing two gliders on behalf of the Bertin de Chatenay Aeroclub. Immediately after the collision, the pilots of both gliders were able to detach and landed safely. Out of control, both aircraft dove into the ground and crashed on the slope of Mt Salaure, at an altitude of 1,100 meters. Both aircraft were totally destroyed and all three occupants were killed.

Crash of a Morane-Saulnier M.S.760 Paris II in Paris: 1 killed

Date & Time: Dec 23, 1970

Type of aircraft:

Morane-Saulnier M.S.760 Paris

Operator:

Registration:

Flight Phase:

Takeoff (climb)

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Airport (less than 10 km from airport)

MSN:

YOM:

1960

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

The crew (one mechanic and one pilot) was engaged in a local training flight when, shortly after takeoff, the airplane went out of control and crashed. The pilot Montagnon was killed while the mechanic Thévenin was injured.

Probable cause:

Loss of control after liftoff caused by a turbine icing.

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