Crash of a Farman F.224 in Sonchamp: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jun 12, 1940
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
L-236
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Bourges
MSN:
41
YOM:
1940
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
7
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
The airplane departed Vélizy-Villacoublay Airbase on a flight to Bourges, carrying seven crew members and various equipment. Few minutes after departure, it was shot down by the pilot of a German fighter and crash landed in a field, bursting into flames. Four occupants were injured and three were killed.
Crew:
Adj/C Gaston Lepage, pilot, †
Adj Dumont, copilot,
Sgt/C Pierre Petricorne, radio operator, †
Sgt Noël Charles Gardenier, †
Sgt Maffat,
Adj Pinardi,
Pvt Rival.
Probable cause:
Shot down by a German fighter.

Crash of a Potez 25 in Vélizy-Villacoublay

Date & Time: Jun 7, 1940 at 1145 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
2010
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Rennes - Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
2010
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
On final approach to Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport, the aircraft crashed due to a fuel exhaustion. The pilot was uninjured and the aircraft was destroyed.
Crew:
Sgt/C Jean Bétrancourt, pilot.
Probable cause:
Fuel exhaustion.

Crash of a Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 451 in Vélizy-Villacoublay: 2 killed

Date & Time: May 21, 1940 at 1105 LT
Operator:
Registration:
L-850
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
314
YOM:
1940
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a test flight after the airplane just came out from manufacture. Shortly after liftoff, while climbing to a height of 15 metres, one of the engine lost power and emitted black smoke. The pilot retracted the landing gear to pass over the Bois du Loup Pendu but the airplane losing height, he lowered the gear when the airplane veered to the right and crashed, bursting into flames. Both occupants were killed.
Crew:
Lucien Louis Ciavarini, pilot,
Constant François Camus, mechanic.
Probable cause:
Loss of engine power shortly after takeoff for unknown reasons.

Crash of a Potez 25A.2 in Vieille-Église-en-Yvelines: 2 killed

Date & Time: Apr 12, 1940 at 1015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
1852
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
1852
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew was completing a local training sortie out from Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport. At an altitude of about 150 metres, the pilot-in-command initiated a vertical climb then a sharp turn to the right when the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed in an open field located in Vieille-Église-en-Yvelines near Rambouillet. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and both crew members were killed.
Crew:
S/Lt Tadeusz Zmijewski, pilot,
Asp Jacques Guespereau, observer.

Crash of a Potez 25 in Vélizy-Villacoublay

Date & Time: Dec 6, 1939 at 1415 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
1752
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
1752
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew departed Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport for a local observation training exercice. Just after liftoff, the engine lost power. The pilot elected to gain speed and nosed down when the airplane hit the ground, bounced several times and came to rest upside down. Both crew members escaped uninjured.
Crew:
Sgt Maxime Bouchon, pilot,
Eoa Michel Flamand, observer.
Probable cause:
Loss of engine power after liftoff.

Crash of a Potez 25 in Vélizy-Villacoublay: 2 killed

Date & Time: Dec 4, 1939 at 1445 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
1816
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
1816
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
2
Circumstances:
The crew departed Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport for a local observation training exercice. While in initial climb, at a height of about 100 metres, the airplane entered an uncontrolled descent and crashed onto a house located one km past the runway end. Both crew members were killed.
Crew:
Sgt Jean-Jacques Trébucien, pilot,
Eor Paul Mathieu, observer.
Probable cause:
Loss of control during initial climb after the observer's parachute open accidentally and deployed via the observation hatch.

Crash of a Caudron C.635M Simoun in Jouy-en-Josas: 1 killed

Date & Time: Oct 5, 1939 at 1415 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
401
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Villacoublay – La Rochelle
MSN:
8492.401
YOM:
1938
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
1
Circumstances:
The pilot took off from Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport almost simultaneously with a French Air Force Lioré 451. While in initial climb, the Simoun that was positioned to the left of the Lioré, collided the Lioré with its right wing. Out of control, the Simoun entered a dive and crashed on a farm adjacent to the Montcel Castle in Jouy-en-Josas. The pilot, sole on board, was killed.
Crew:
Adj/C Georges Marcillac, pilot.

Crash of a Potez 540 in Beaumont-la-Ronce: 7 killed

Date & Time: Jun 23, 1938 at 0015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Operator:
Registration:
F-ANJO
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Tours – Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
75
YOM:
1936
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
7
Circumstances:
On the evening of 22 June 1938, the crew completed some training maneuvers at the airports of Orléans, Châteauroux and Tours before returning to their base at Vélizy-Villacoublay. The twin engine aircraft departed Tours-Parçay-Meslay Airport shortly after midnight on 23 June 1938. An engine misfired few minutes after takeoff and the pilot attempted an emergency landing when the right wing impacted the ground. The aircraft crashed in Beaumont-la-Ronce, some 15 km north of Tours Airport, and was totally destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. All seven occupants were killed. They were performing a mission on behalf of the Section Centrale des Transports Aériens (SCTA).
Crew:
Cpt Georges Reynaud,
Lt Paul Canal,
LtdV René Perret,
Sgt/C Albert Thibault,
Sgt Yves Fabres.
Passengers:
Cpt Maurice Marmagnant
Cpt Jean Raineri.
Probable cause:
The commission did not find the exact cause of the engine failure but the crew made a sharp turn to the right at low altitude to avoid a hill, causing the right wing to struck the ground.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth off Le Havre

Date & Time: Dec 30, 1936
Registration:
G-ABWA
Flight Phase:
Flight Type:
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Villacoublay – Lympne
MSN:
2229
YOM:
1932
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The airplane crashed in unknown circumstances in the Seine estuary, off Le Havre, while on a flight from Villacoublay to Lympne, Kent. The pilot was rescued while the aircraft was salvaged but later declared as damaged beyond repair. The airplane was carrying a load of jewelry from Spanish Nationalist refugees.

Crash of a De Havilland DH.80 in Vélizy-Villacoublay: 3 killed

Date & Time: Jul 5, 1930
Operator:
Registration:
G-AAZY
Flight Phase:
Survivors:
No
Site:
Schedule:
Vélizy-Villacoublay - Stag Lane
MSN:
2025
YOM:
1930
Country:
Region:
Crew on board:
1
Crew fatalities:
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
Other fatalities:
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Shortly after takeoff from Vélizy-Villacoublay Airport, while in initial climb, the aircraft stalled and crashed in the Petit Clamart Avenue, in Clamart. The aircraft caught fire on ground and was destroyed by impact forces and a post crash fire. All three occupants were killed.
Crew:
Mr. Ballet, pilot.
Passengers:
Baron Bernard Levavasseur de Précourt, Director of the Schreck Aeroplanes Company,
Comte Étienne de Roye.