Date & Time:
Mar 20, 1963 at 0323 LT
Type of aircraft:
De Havilland DH.106 Comet
Operator:
Registration:
SA-R-7
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Government
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Geneva – Nice
MSN:
6461
YOM:
1962
Country:
Italy
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
8
Crew fatalities:
8
Pax on board:
10
Pax fatalities:
10
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
18
Circumstances:
The four engine aircraft was completing a flight from Geneva to Nice, carrying eight crew members and ten members of the Saudi Royal Family. While cruising by night above the Alps and along the border between France and Italy, the crew was in communication with ATC based in Aix-en-Provence and was instructed to descent to 10,000 feet when the airplane struck the slope of Mt Matto located 28 km southwest of Cuneo. The wreckage was found a day later and all 18 occupants have been killed.
