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Air Inter Flight 696 was an Air Inter Vickers Viscount 724 carrying 63 passengers and 5 crew members on a scheduled French passenger flight from Lyon–Bron Airport, in Lyon, to Clermont-Ferrand-Aulnat Airport, outside Clermont-Ferrand. On October 27, 1972, it crashed into a mountain on approach. Of the 68 passengers and crew on board, only 8 passengers survived. At the time, it was the fourth deadliest accident in French history and the fourth deadliest accident involving a Vickers Viscount.[1]
 A similiar Air Inter Vickers Viscount 724 (registration F-BNAX) at Orly Airport | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 27, 1972 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Pic du Picon, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of Noirétable, France Approximately 45°50′11″N 3°43′33″E / 45.83639°N 3.72583°E |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount Type 724 |
| Operator | Air Inter |
| Registration | F-BMCH |
| Flight origin | Lyon–Bron Airport, Lyon, France |
| Destination | Clermont-Ferrand-Aulnat Airport, Aulnat, France |
| Passengers | 63 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 60 |
| Survivors | 8 |
Summary edit
Air Inter Flight 696, operated by Captain Robert Bonnell (44), co-pilot Yannick Aubert (30), as well as instructor pilot André Lapierre (36), departed Lyon at 18:48 (CET, UTC+1) for a night flight to Clermont-Ferrand. The weather was rainy, and the visibility was around 5 miles (8.0 km) with a low 4/8 ceiling at 2300 feet (700 m) and overcast at 8000 feet (2400 m). East of Clermont-Ferrand, the crew flew in a holding pattern before they were cleared to descend to 3600 feet (1100 m). The Viscount collided with the mountain Pic du Picon at 1000 feet (300 m), 44 kilometres (27 mi) east of the airport.[1]
After impacting Pic du Picon, the plane crashed down onto a lower peak, the Col des Sagnes. Six hours after the crash, rescuers (from the over 2000 soldiers, policemen, and volunteers searching for the aircraft) found the crash site. The survivors were taken to the Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Clermont-Ferrand.[2]
Investigation edit
The investigation by France's BEA (French: Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile) found that flight 696's radio compass shifted 180 degrees after electrical discharges in the rainfall blocked the signals of the Clermont-Ferrand non-directional beacon. The crew, flying in the wrong direction, initiated their descent too early and collided with a mountain.[3]
Aircraft edit
The accident aircraft, a Vickers Viscount 724 (c/n 50), was built in Hurn, near Bournemouth, England, for Trans-Canada Airlines; TCA assigned it the registration number CF-TGM. It first flew on March 15, 1955. Aside from an electrical issue in September 1959, the most serious incident prior to the 1972 crash occurred on February 9, 1962. Operating as Flight 362 from Toronto's Malton Airport to Ottawa's Uplands Airport, the left landing gear malfunctioned. After two failed approaches to Ottawa, the captain, Charles P. "Chuck" Kenworthy, diverted to Dorval Airport in Montreal, which had better emergency facilities and was TCA's base. He managed to land the plane successfully on only the front and right landing gear; as the plane decelerated, however, the left side dropped and the propellers impacted the ground. Aside from this engine damage, none of the 44 passengers and 5 crew were seriously injured. The plane returned to service two months later, and was withdrawn from service by Trans-Canada in January 1963. In March 1964, it was sold to Air Inter, moved to France, and re-registered as F-BMCH.[4][5][6] At the time of the crash, the plane had accrued over 31,000 flight hours and over 26,000 landings.[3]
References edit
- ^ a b "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "20 Survive Crash of French Plane Carrying 68". The New York Times. Reuters. October 28, 1972. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ a b Lemaire, R.; Forestier, J.; Hoerter, G.; Guillevic, P.; Buck, J.-C.; Gignoux, C. (9 November 1973). "Rapport final de la Commission d'Enquête sur l'accident survenu le 27 octobre 1972 à Viscontat (Pûy-de-Dôme) au Vickers 724 Viscount F-BMCH de la Compagnie Air Inter" (PDF). Journal officiel de la République française: 1405–1433.
- ^ "Viscount c/n 50". Vickers Viscount Network. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ Haig, Terry (February 10, 1962). "Liner Landed Safely At Montreal Airport With One Wheel Up". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 10 February 2017 – via Google News.
- ^ Taylor, Peter; Rupert, Bob (February 10, 1962). "22 Ottawa Passengers Safe After Airliner Belly-Lands". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 8 July 2018 – via Google News.
External Links edit
- Official Report (in French)
- Les opérations de secours après la catastrophe aérienne (Rescue operations after the aerial catastrophe) (in French)
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1972|Air Inter Flight 696]] [[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in France|Air Inter Flight 696]] [[Category:Air Inter accidents and incidents|Air Inter Flight 696]] [[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount|Air Inter Flight 696]]