Date & Time:
Jan 12, 1940 at 0130 LT
Type of aircraft:
Lioré-et-Olivier LeO 45 (451-459)
Operator:
Registration:
L-553
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Training
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Salon-de-Provence - Salon-de-Provence
MSN:
17
YOM:
1939
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
5
Circumstances:
The twin engine airplane departed Salon-de-Provence Airbase at 0043LT on a local training exercice, carrying five crew members. Weather was misty without moon. After completing several circuits over the airfield, the airplane continued to the south at an altitude of 1,000 metres. In unknown circumstances, the airplane went out of control and crashed inverted in an open field located in Le Sambuc, some 18 km west of Istres-Le Tubé AFB, bursting into flames. All five crew members were killed.
Crew:
Cne Georges Geerts, Chief,
Adj/c Jean Villemot, pilot,
Lt Claude Wemaere, navigator,
Adj/C Marie-Joseph Vogel, radio operator,
Adj Charles Hanotel, gunner.
Crew:
Cne Georges Geerts, Chief,
Adj/c Jean Villemot, pilot,
Lt Claude Wemaere, navigator,
Adj/C Marie-Joseph Vogel, radio operator,
Adj Charles Hanotel, gunner.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined. It is believed that the airplane caught fire in flight.
