Date & Time:
Jun 23, 1938 at 0015 LT
Type of aircraft:
Potez 540
Operator:
Registration:
F-ANJO
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Government
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Tours – Vélizy-Villacoublay
MSN:
75
YOM:
1936
Country:
France
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
2
Pax fatalities:
2
Other fatalities:
0
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.
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.
