1962 — June 3, Air France Boeing 707 (charter) takeoff crash, Orly AP, Paris, France-121US of 130

–121US of 130 AP. “115 Georgia Cultural Leaders Perish…” Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 6-4-1962, 1.
–121 Passengers (all US)
— 8 Crew
— 1 Air France Atlanta agent.
— 130 Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Found. Database 1962. “3 June 1962.”
–121US of 130 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (3rd Ed.). 1982, p. 372.

Narrative Information

ASN: “The Boeing 707 aircraft, named “Chateau de Sully”, was on a non-scheduled (charter) international flight from Paris (ORY) to Atlanta (ATL) and Houston via New York (JFK). Ten crew and 122 passengers were on the flight when, after a considerable delay to await the arrival of passengers, it was cleared to take off from runway 08 at Orly Airport at 11:32 UTC. It aligned itself for takeoff and waited 6 seconds, which permitted the setting and checking of takeoff parameters on the four engines. Full thrust was applied, and the aircraft accelerated normally. From testimony and flight recorder data, the takeoff was reconstructed as follows. Between 20 to 40 seconds after the start of the roll, the rate of acceleration was steady at 1.80 m/s2. The aircraft rolled along the runway centre line without showing any tendency to veer to either side. V1, determined as 147 kt IAS, was attained after a ground roll of 1500 m. This was followed by VR, 158 kt IAS. Forty-eight seconds after the beginning of the takeoff run and approximately when passing the 1800 m mark, the aircraft reached the rotation speed (VR), and the pilot-in-command initiated the takeoff manoeuvre by pulling backwards on the control column. According to witnesses, the aircraft made an incomplete rotational movement about 2100 m from the threshold. It remained for 4 to 6 seconds with its nose slightly raised. Then the nose dropped when the brakes were applied. Thick smoke streamed from the wheels. The aircraft was 2600 m from its starting point and had reached a maximum speed of 179 kt IAS. It braked for the last 680 m of the runway with an average deceleration of 1.2 to 1.3 m/s After 250 m of braking the aircraft veered slightly to the left, and 50deg of flap were selected. Then after another 250 m the aircraft listed heavily to starboard. Its path then curved right, which suggests a possible attempt to ground loop. However, the aircraft’s speed precluded the success of this manoeuvre, and it left the runway while still on the centre line. It rolled for a while on the grass extension of the runway but, because of the unevenness of the terrain and the high speed of the aircraft (160 kt), the port gear broke off 110 m from the end of the runway and was wrenched away. The aircraft pivoted left, and engines No. 1 and 2 scraped the ground. Fire broke out in the port wing at the level of the landing gear. About 300 m beyond the end of the runway the aircraft crossed the encircling road. The starboard gear collapsed, and No. 2 engine broke loose. It then struck the approach lights, which represented a considerable obstacle. It started to disintegrate when reaching the hollow at the end of the runway extension, which descends at a steep angle towards the Seine. The front part of the fuselage struck a house and garage. The nose of the aircraft broke away, and the rest of the fuselage came to a stop 100 m further on. The site of the accident was 550 m beyond the end of runway 08 on its extended centre line, at an elevation of 89 m.

“Probable Cause: “The accident was due to the concurrence of: 1) a considerable out-of-trim condition producing major loads on the control column at VR and VLOF which may have seemed prohibitive to the pilot-in-command; and 2) a failure of the trim servo motor control system which prevented the pilot-in-command from rectifying the faulty setting of the stabilizer and, consequently, from reducing the reaction at the control column. These factors led the pilot-in-command to discontinue take-off, but it was too late to stop the aircraft on the runway or slow it down sufficiently before the end of the runway.”” (Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database 1962. “3 June 1962.”)

Newspaper

June 4: “By Rodney Angove. Paris (AP) – The grieving mayor of Atlanta arrived in Paris today to help identify bodies of cultural leaders of his city, victims of the worst single-plane disaster in aviation history. Mayor Ivan Allen had set out on his said journey soon after an Air France jetliner crashed back to earth as it took off Sunday and burst into flame.

“A total of 130 persons were killed – all 121 passengers, 8 crewmen and Air France’s Atlanta agent….All the passengers were Americans and most were from Atlanta and environs – members of the Atlanta Art Association en route home with happy memories and mementoes of a three-week tour of European art galleries and cultural sites.

“Only two Air France hostesses – seated in the tail end of the big Boeing 707 – were flung to safety in the flaming crash at Orly Field outside Paris. A steward was pulled alive from the flaming wreckage but died in a hospital….

“Investigators studied reports indicating the place developed some trouble as it roared down the Orly Field runway for its takeoff and the pilot tried unsuccessfully to brake to a halt….

Mayor Allen hurried to inspect the scene of the accident immediately after his arrival in another Boeing 707. He said that along with identification of the bodies he would also arrange for their transport home. The mayor was accompanied by Edwin Stern, assistant city attorney of Atlanta. They were met by officials of Air France, Orly Airport, the Paris city council, the foreign ministry and the ministry of public works. With tears in his eyes, the mayor told newsmen in an emotion-filled voice that he had come to France under ‘particularly tragic conditions.’ He said ‘the elite of Atlanta had died in the accident.’ Allen said he had come to Paris on behalf of the residents of Atlanta to view the scene of the crash and to hear official reports on the accident. He expressed thanks to everyone who had attempted to save the passengers. ‘I knew all of those who died Sunday,’ the mayor said. ‘We were of the same generation and many of them were childhood friends.’ Allen said he would stay in Paris until all the bodies had been identified and their return to Atlanta assured.

“Pretty Francoise Authie, one of the hostesses, said: ‘It was so fast. So sudden. I didn’t have time to realize what was going on.’

“Witnesses said Capt. Roland Hoche, one of Air France’s most experienced pilots, apparently tried frantically to halt the airliner after engine trouble developed as it roared down the runway, but the plane was going too fast. The four-engine, $6-million airliner rose only a few feet, then plunged to the ground and thundered ahead for 300 yards toward a cluster of homes in a village bordering the airfield. Sprouting flames, the jet smashed through a fence at the end of the runway and raced wildly over a rolling, wooded slope before coming to a halt at the doorsteps of homes in the hamlet of Villeneuve le Roi. The blast from exploding fuel tanks startled the village residents just sitting down for lunch.

“The takeoff just before 1 p.m. was in clear, bright weather – one of Paris’ sunniest days this summer.

“The recording of the pilot’s last words with the control tower at Orly Field was held by the district magistrate. The magistrate said the pilot’s exchange was routine – asking the tower for permission to take off and getting the go ahead.

“The inspector general in charge of the investigation said he noted skid marks on the runway which indicated the pilot had his brakes on for about 500 yards. The smoldering wreckage was searched for the automatic recorder which would give a clue to the plane’s final fatal seconds.

“Air France said the American built Boeing had flown in from New York only a few hours before and had been inspected before the return flight. It showed no trouble on the eastward crossing officials said.

“The death toll of 130 was the worst in a single-plane crash in aviation history – exceeding by one the number killed in a 1953 crash of a U.S. Air Force C124 Globemaster near Tokyo. “It was the fourth crash of a 707 since the big jet went into commercial service in October 1958. The Boeing Airplane Co., builders of the plane, said it has delivered 269 to 26 airlines and they now fly 5.9 million miles a week, carrying 210,000 passengers. The company said the 707 has ‘the best safety record of any airplane ever introduced into commercial operation.’” (Associated Press. “115 Georgia Cultural Leaders Perish in Flaming Crash of Jetliner in Paris.” Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 6-4-1962, 1.)

Sources

Associated Press (Rodney Angove). “115 Georgia Cultural Leaders Perish in Flaming Crash of Jetliner in Paris.” Thomasville Times-Enterprise, GA, 6-4-1962, 1. Accessed 7-4-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-jun-04-1962-p-1/

Aviation Safety Network, Flight Safety Foundation. Database 1962. “3 June 1962.” Accessed 7-4-2020 at: https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19620603-0

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.