Air France (formally Société Air France) is an airline based in Paris, France, and a subsidiary of Air France-KLM Group. It operates worldwide scheduled passenger and cargo services to 185 destinations in
83 countries. Its global hub is located at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Paris
Orly Airport, Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport are secondary hubs.[1].
Prior to its merger with KLM, Air France was
France's primary national flag carrier, employing 71,654 people (as of March 2004).[2] By March 2007, the airline employed 102,422 staff.[1]
The company's corporate headquarters was located at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle to the North of Paris. This is where the headquarters
of Air France-KLM is now located. Between April 2001 and March 2002 the airline carried 43.3mn passengers and earned a
profit of € 12.53bn. Régional,
Air France's regional airline subsidiary, operates
the majority of its regional domestic and European scheduled services with a fleet of
regional jet and turboprop aircraft.[3] Air France is also accredited by IATA with the IATA Operations Safety Audit (IOSA) for its safety
practices.[4]
History
Air France was formed on October 7, 1933. On that day the
airline came into existence, as a result of a merger between Air Orient, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale, Société Générale de Transport Aérien (SGTA) - the first
commercial airline company in France founded as Lignes Aériennes Farman in 1919, Air Union and Compagnie Internationale de Navigation Aérienne (CIDNA). At that time the airline had
already built an extensive route network across Europe, as well as to the French colonies in North Africa and farther afield.
During World War II, Air France moved its operations to Casablanca, Morocco.
Passengers disembarking from a Sud-Est SE-161 Languedoc
At the beginning of the post World War II era, on June 26, 1945, all French air transport companies were
nationalised. On December 29, 1945 a decree of the French
government granted Air France the management of the entire French air transport network.
Air France appointed its first flight attendants in 1946. The same year the airline opened its first air terminal at Les
Invalides in central Paris. It was linked to Paris Le Bourget Airport,
Air France's first operational and engineering base, by a regular coach service. At that time the Air France route network
covered 160,000 km, which was claimed to be the longest in the world.[5]
Société Nationale Air France was set up on January 1, 1946.
Air France inaugurated its first direct scheduled air service between Paris and New York on
July 1, 1946. This service was operated with Douglas DC-4 piston-engined airliners,
which covered the route in just under 20 hours.[5]
In 1946 and 1948, respectively, the French government authorised the creation of two wholly
privately owned airlines. These were Transports Ariens Internationeaux - later renamed Transports Ariens Intercontinenteaux -
(TAI) and SATI (which became Union Aéromaritime de Transport [UAT] in 1949).[5]
In 1948 Air France already operated one of the largest aircraft fleets in the world, numbering 130 aircraft.[5]
Compagnie Nationale Air France was created by an act of parliament on
June 16, 1948. Initially, the government held 70% of the newly
created company. (In subsequent years the French state's direct and indirect
shareholdings in Air France reached almost 100%. In mid-2002 the French state still held a 54% stake in the airline.)[5][6]
On August 4, 1948, Max Hymans was appointed president of Air
France. During his 13 years at the helm, he implemented a modernisation policy centred on the introduction of state-of-the-art
jet aircraft. In 1949 the company became a co-founder of Société
Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques (SITA).[5]
In 1952 Air France moved its main operational and engineering base to the then new Paris Orly
Airport, where its operations were concentrated at Orly Sud, Orly Airport's South
Terminal. By that time the company's network had further expanded, covering 250,000 km.[5]
On September 26, 1953 the French government instructed Air
France to share its long distance routes with the newly created private airlines. This was followed by the Ministry of Public
Works and Transport's imposition of an accord on Air France, Aigle Azur, TAI and UAT, under which
some of the former's long-haul routes to Africa, Asia and the
Pacific region were transferred to the latter three airlines.[5]
On February 23, 1960 the Ministry of Public Works and
Transport transferred Air France's domestic monopoly to Air Inter. To compensate it for the
loss of its domestic monopoly, Air France was given a stake in Air Inter. On February 24,
1960 Air France was furthermore instructed to share out its African
routes with Air Afrique and UAT on an equal basis.[5][6]
On February 1, 1963 the French government enacted a law that
formalised the division of routes between Air France and its private sector rivals. Under
this act Air France was required to withdraw all services to West Africa (with the exception
of Senegal, which it continued to serve), Central Africa
(except Burundi and Rwanda), Southern Africa (including South Africa), Libya in North Africa, Bahrain and
Oman in the Middle East, Sri
Lanka (then known as Ceylon) in South Asia,
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as New
Caledonia and Tahiti. These routes were exclusively allocated to the newly formed
UTA (the result of a merger between TAI and UAT). UTA also obtained
exclusive traffic rights between Japan, New Caledonia and New Zealand, South Africa and the French
Réunion island in the Indian Ocean, as well as
Los Angeles and Tahiti.[5][6]
From 1974 onwards, Air France began shifting the bulk of its operations to what was then a
brand-new Charles de Gaulle Airport. (By the early 1980s, only its flights to Corsica,
Martinique, Guadeloupe, most services to French Guyana, Réunion, the Maghreb region, Eastern Europe - except the USSR, Southern Europe - except Greece and Italy, and one daily service to New York JFK remained at Orly.)
On January 21, 1976 Air France operated its inaugural
supersonic transport (SST) service on the Paris Charles de Gaulle to Rio (via
Dakar) route. Supersonic services from Paris CDG to New York
JFK as well as from Paris CDG to Washington Dulles
commenced the following year. It covered Paris to New York in only three hours and 23 minutes, at about twice the
speed of sound. (Approval for flights to the United States was initially withheld due to noise protests.) Eventually, services to
Mexico City via Washington, D.C. were started as
well.
Air France has code-shared with a number of regional French airlines in the past. TAT was the most prominent among Air France's past code-share partners. It applied the Air France
livery to several of its aircraft that operated on Air France's regional international
routes.[7]
By 1983, Air France's golden jubilee year, the firm's
workforce numbered more than 34,000, its fleet comprised about 100 jet aircraft (including
33 Boeing 747s) and its 634,400 km long network served 150 destinations in 73 countries. This
made Air France the fourth-largest scheduled passenger airline in the world, as well as the world's second-largest scheduled
freight carrier.[5]
In 1986 the French government unexpectedly decided
to relax its policy of neatly dividing traffic rights for scheduled air services between Air France, Air Inter and UTA, without
any route overlaps between them. The French government's decision to adopt a less rigid interpretation of its official aviation
policy gradually opened up some of Air France's most lucrative routes on which it had enjoyed a government-sanctioned
monopoly among France's scheduled airlines since 1963, and which were located within its
exclusive sphere of influence, to rival airlines, notably privately owned UTA. These changes therefore enabled UTA to launch
scheduled services to new destinations within Air France's sphere of influence, in direct competition with that airline.
Paris-San Francisco became the first route UTA served in competition with Air
France non-stop from Paris. Air France responded by extending some of its non-stop Paris-Los Angeles services to Papeete, Tahiti, which competed with UTA on the Los Angeles-Papeete sector. UTA's ability to secure traffic
rights outside its traditional sphere of influence in competition with Air France was the result of a successful campaign it had
mounted to lobby the French government to enable it to grow faster, thereby becoming a more
dynamic and more profitable business. This had infuriated the
Air France management.[8]
On 12 January 1990, the operations of majority
government-owned Air France, semi-public Air Inter and wholly privately owned UTA were merged into the Air France Group. [9] Air France's acquisition of both UTA and Air Inter was part of
an early 1990s French government plan to create a unified, national carrier with the
economies of scale and global presence to counter potential threats resulting from
the liberalisation of the EU's internal air
transport market.[10]
On August 31, 1994 Stephen
Wolf, a former United Airlines CEO was appointed as adviser to the Air France Group's then chairman Christian Blanc. Stephen Wolf has widely been
credited with the successful introduction of Air France's hub and spoke
operation at the airline's Paris Charles de Gaulle hub. (Stephen Wolf resigned his position as adviser to the Air France chairman
in 1996 to take over as CEO at US Airways.)[11][12]
A new holding company, Groupe Air France, was set up by decree on July 25, 1994. Groupe Air France became operational on September 1, 1994. It acquired majority shareholdings in Air France and Air Inter (renamed Air France Europe).
In 1997 Air France Europe was fully absorbed into Air France.
On February 10, 1999 Lionel
Jospin's Plural Left government approved the airline's partial privatisation. Its shares were listed on the Paris
stock exchange on February 22, 1999.
In June 1999 Air France and Delta Air Lines formed a bilateral transatlantic partnership. On June 22, 2000 this bilateral
transatlantic partnership was expanded into the the SkyTeam global airline alliance.[5][1].
Air France-KLM merger
On September 30, 2003, Air France and Netherlands-based KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, announced the merger of the two
airlines, with the new company to be known as Air France-KLM. The merger finally became reality on May
5, 2004. At that point former Air France shareholders owned 81% of the new firm (44% owned
by the French state, 37% by private shareholders), while former KLM shareholders held the rest. The decision of the
Jean-Pierre Raffarin government to reduce the French state's shareholding in Air
France from 54.4% (of the former Air France) to 44% (of the current Air France-KLM) effectively privatised the airline. In
December 2004 the French state sold 18.4% of its equity stake in the Air France-KLM Group. It subsequently further reduced its
stake to just under 20%.[1]
Air France-KLM is the largest airline company in the world in terms of operating revenues,
and the third-largest in the world (largest in Europe) in terms of passenger kilometers.[1]
Air France-KLM is a participant of the SkyTeam alliance with Aeroflot, Delta Air Lines, Aeroméxico, Korean
Air, Czech Airlines, Alitalia, Northwest Airlines, Air Europa and Continental Airlines. Both Air France and KLM continue to fly under their own brand names.
New transatlantic profit and revenue sharing joint venture
On October 17, 2007 the creation of a fully integrated
profit and revenue sharing transatlantic joint venture between Air France-KLM and Delta
Air Lines was announced during a press conference at Air France-KLM's Roissy-Charles de
Gaulle headquarters. The new joint venture will become effective on March 29, 2008. It will exploit new transatlantic opportunities to capture a major share of the lucrative long-haul business
traffic from London's Heathrow
Airport, which will be opened up to unrestricted competition on that day as a result of the recent "Open Skies" pact between the EU and US. It is envisaged that Air France and
Delta, as well as their fellow SkyTeam members Continental and Northwest, will begin nine daily
roundtrips between Heathrow and various destinations in the US, including a daily Heathrow-Los Angeles service operated by Air
France. Once the new Air France-Delta joint venture has received antitrust
immunity, it will be extended to the other two transatlantic SkyTeam partners as well. This will enable all four partners
to codeshare on each others' flights, as well as to share revenues and profits.[13][14]
The new transatlantic joint venture marks the Air France-KLM group's second major expansion in the London market, following
the launch of several new CityJet-operated short-haul routes from London City Airport that have specifically been aimed at business travellers working in the
City's burgeoning financial services
industry.[13]
Destinations
-
Most of Air France's international flights operate from Paris Charles de Gaulle. Air France also has a strong presence at
Paris Orly and Lyon Saint-Exupéry. Some flights operate out of Nice Côte d'Azur Airport as well.
Fleet
Passenger fleet
The Air France passenger fleet consists of the following aircraft as of June 2007: [15]
Air France Fleet
| Aircraft |
Total |
Passengers
(First/Business/Economy) |
Routes |
Notes |
| Airbus A318 |
18 |
118*
123 |
Short-medium haul
Europe, Africa |
|
| Airbus A319 |
46 |
133* - 136*
138 - 142 |
Short-medium haul
Africa, Europe, Middle East |
|
| Airbus A320 |
68
(48 orders) |
160* - 166*
165 - 172 |
Short-medium haul
Africa, Europe, Middle East |
|
| Airbus A321 |
15 |
196* - 200*
206 |
Short-medium haul
Africa, Europe, Middle East |
|
| Airbus A330-200 |
16 |
211 (6/42/163)
222 (40/182) |
Medium-long haul
Africa, Americas, Asia |
|
| Airbus A340-300 |
19 |
252 (6/42/204)
272 (36/236)
289 (30/259) |
Long haul
Africa, Americas, Asia, Caribbean |
|
| Airbus A380 |
(12 orders)
(2 options) |
531 |
Long haul |
Entry into service: 2009 |
| Boeing 747-400 |
10 |
395 (13/58/322)
433 (39/394)
474 (17/457) |
Long haul
Africa, Americas, Asia, Caribbean |
Replacement aircraft:
Airbus A380
Boeing 777-300ER |
| Boeing 747-400M |
5 |
|
|
Replacement aircraft:
Boeing 777-200F
Boeing 777-300ER |
| Boeing 777-200ER |
25 |
264 (4/49/211)
270 (12/56/202) |
Long haul
Africa, Americas, Asia |
|
| Boeing 777-300ER |
23
(28 orders) |
310 (8/67/235) |
Long haul
Africa, Americas, Asia |
Launch customer |
*Short Haul aircraft base L'Espace Affaires seating amounts by demand.
The average fleet age of Air France is 8.8 years as of September 2007 [16].
Cargo fleet
Orders
- On 24 May 2007 Air France announced it was planning to phase
out the 747 by 2012, and placed an order for an additional 13 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and 5 Boeing 777-200F aircraft. The
airline had also converted options for 2 more A380 aircraft into firm orders. This will bring the total number of these aircraft
types for Air France to 33 Boeing 777-300ER, 10 Boeing 777-200F, and 12 A380-800. [17]
- On 22 February 2005 Air France placed an order for a
further 4 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, adding to 10 previously ordered (4 delivered). The airline had previously ordered 18 Boeing
777-200ERs.
- Air France has ordered 12 Airbus A380 aircraft, with options on a further 2 aircraft.
Delivery of the first aircraft will start in 2009. The A380 will initially be used on North Atlantic route services from Paris to
Montréal and New York and as additional aircraft arrive, on services to
Beijing and Tokyo [18].
- On 20 May 2005 Air France signed an agreement with
Boeing to have three of its former Boeing 747-400 "Combi" aircraft - currently operated in all
passenger configuration - converted to the Boeing 747-400SF "Special Freighter" model. The first modified aircraft will be
delivered in June 2007, enabling acceleration of the phasing out of the remaining, aging Boeing 747-200F freighters.[19].
- On 23 May 2005 Air France agreed to purchase 5 777 Freighters (with 3 further options), making it the launch customer of the 777 Freighter along with
Air Canada who ordered 2. First delivery will be in late 2008, commencing replacement of the
airline's Boeing 747-200F fleet [19].
Retired fleet
Fleet history
Air France entered the jet age in 1953 with the original, short-lived De Havilland Comet series
1, the world's first jetliner.
The airline commenced uninterrupted pure jet operations in 1960, both with the Sud Aviation Caravelle and the Boeing 707.
It was also a major operator of the Vickers Viscount turboprop.
Air France was an early Boeing 747 operator. It eventually operated one of the world's largest 747 fleets.
In 1974 Air France became a launch customer for the Airbus A300 twin-engined widebodied plane,
Airbus Industrie's first commercial airliner. In 1988 it became a
launch customer for the Airbus A320 narrowbody twin, along with Air Inter and British Caledonian.
In 1976 Air France became one of only two airlines in the world - British Airways being the other airline - to actually introduce the Anglo-French BAC-Aérospatiale Concorde, the world's first and
operationally only successful supersonic airliner, into commercial airline
service.
The five Air France Concordes were permanently grounded on May 31, 2003, allegedly as a result of insufficient demand following the 2000 accident, as well as higher fuel and
maintenance costs. However, it is widely believed that Air France chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta's fear of personal criminal
liability in the event of another Concorde accident was the real reason for the aircraft's
withdrawal from service. Airbus's subsequent decision to stop supporting the in-service Concorde fleet forced British Airways to
retire its own fleet prematurely. The Airbus decision to end all Concorde support came at an inopportune time for British Airways
as it had just completed a major refurbishment of the aircraft's interiors and invested heavily in post-2000 crash modifications.
(British Airways flew its last Concorde service on October 24, 2003.) Concorde F-BVFA was transferred to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center, an annexe of the National Air & Space Museum in
Chantilly area of Fairfax County,
Virginia, United States, near Washington Dulles Airport.
F-BVFB was given to Sinsheim Auto & Technik Museum in Germany, F-BTSD to the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris,
while F-BVFC was returned to its place of manufacture in Toulouse at the Airbus factory. F-BVFF is the only example to remain at Charles de Gaulle.[20]
Air France signed up as a launch customer for the Airbus A380 "superjumbo" in 2001.[21]
Cabin
Air France has three primary classes of international service: L'Espace Première (First), L'Espace Affaires (Business), and
Tempo (Economy). European shorthaul flights feature Tempo class service. For flights to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, a premium economy class, Alizé, is also offered.[22] Inflight entertainment via AVOD (Audio Video on Demand) is available in select
cabins.
L'Espace Première
L'Espace Première, Air France's longhaul first class product, is available on
Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. The L'Espace Première cabin features four to eight wood and leather seats which
recline 180°, forming two meter long beds. Each seat features a 10.4" touchscreen TV
monitor with interactive gaming and AVOD, a privacy divider, automassage feature, reading light, storage drawer, noise-cancelling
headphones, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. À la carte on-demand meal services feature entrées created by chef Guy
Martin. Turndown service includes a mattress, duvet and pillow. Private lounge access is offered worldwide.
L'Espace Affaires
L'Espace Affaires, Air France's longhaul business class product, is available on
Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200ER, and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
L'Espace Affaires features lie-flat seats which recline to two meters in length. Each seat includes a 10.4" touchscreen TV
monitor with interactive gaming and AVOD, reading light, personal telephone, and laptop power ports. Meal service features
three-course meals and a cheese service, or an express menu served shortly after takeoff.
Tempo
Tempo, Air France's economy class product, features seats that recline up to 118°. The latest longhaul Tempo seat, which
debuted on the Boeing 777-300ER, includes winged headrests, a personal telephone, and a touchscreen TV monitor with interactive
gaming and partial AVOD, with films and programs restarting every 15 minutes. Shorthaul Tempo services are operated by Airbus
A320 family aircraft with different seating arrangements. On short haul flights, a cold meal is served. On long haul flights you
can choose between two main courses. Complimentary alcoholic beverages are available on all flights. On flights over 10.5 hours,
a self-service snack buffet is available in the galley.
Alizé
Alizé, Air France's premium economy product, is available on flights to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean (such as the
Antilles, Guyana, and Mauritius). On the Boeing 777-300ER, the Alizé cabin is located in front of the Tempo cabin and features 36
seats. Alizé seats recline up to 123° and feature massaging foot rests. A predeparture drink, enhanced meal service, and feather
pillows and blankets are offered.
Codeshare agreements
In addition to its Brit Air, CityJet, Régional, and
SkyTeam alliance partnerships, Air France offers frequent flyer partnerships with the following
airlines:
Subsidiaries
In partnership with Dutch affiliate, Transavia,
Air France is to launch a new low-cost subsidiary to be based at Paris Orly and to begin operations in May 2007 with leisure
route services in the Mediterranean and North
Africa. It will operate 4 "Next Generation" Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Transavia is understood to have a 40% stake, with Air
France holding the rest [23].
Incidents and accidents
There are numerous reported incidents/accidents involving Air France aircraft/flights. At least twelve of these involved heavy
loss of life.[24]
Selected accidents/major incidents are listed below:
- On the nights of June 12, 1950 and June 14, 1950, respectively, two Air France Douglas DC-4s (registration F-BBDE and
F-BBDM, respectively) crashed into the sea off Bahrain while attempting to land, with a combined loss of 86 lives. (The first
accident claimed the lives of 40 of the 53 occupants and the second 46 out of 52 occupants' lives. Both aircraft had operated the
Karachi, Pakistan, to Bahrain portion of Air France's
scheduled international Saigon, Vietnam - Paris
sector.) The accident investigators concluded that the pilot in command did not maintain his
correct altitude until the runway lights became visible during the approach to Bahrain in the
first accident, and that the pilot in command did not keep an accurate check of his altitude and rate of descent during the approach procedure in the second accident. [2][3][4]
- On February 3, 1951 a Douglas DC-4 (registration F-BBDO)
operating Air France's scheduled Douala, Cameroon, to
Niamey, Niger, sector impacted the 13,354 feet high Cameroon Mountain near Bouea, Nigeria, at a height of 8,500 feet. The aircraft was destroyed, killing all 29 occupants. The mountain was
probably only partially or faintly visible from the flight deck due to the mist surrounding it.
Therefore, it was probably too late to climb over the mountain by the time the crew saw it. Although the pilot in command
initiated immediate evasive action by turning sharply to the left, the plane hit the steeply rising terrain with its left wing.
The accident investigators concluded that the crew followed an inaccurate procedure and relied on imprecise navigation. The investigators furthermore determined that the crew did not check the
draft. Moreover, they cited the crew's error of judgement and over-confidence when flying
over the mountain mass as additional contributory factors.[5]
- On March 3, 1952 a SNCASE SE-161
Languedoc (registration F-BCUM) operating a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Nice Le Var
Airport to Paris Le Bourget Airport crashed shortly after takeoff with the loss of all 38 lives on board. Soon after
takeoff from Le Var Airport, the aircraft began banking to the left. This increased progressively until the aircraft flipped over
on its back and crashed. The accident investigators attributed the accident to the aircraft's blocked ailerons to the left, as a result of a mechanical fault related to the design.[6]
- On April 29, 1952 a Douglas
C-54A (registration F-BELI) operating an internal German scheduled service from
Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport to Berlin Tempelhof Airport came under sustained attack from two Soviet MiG 15 fighters while passing through one of the Allied air
corridors over East Germany. Although the attack had severely damaged the plane,
necessitating the shutdown of engines number three and four, the pilot in command of the aircraft managed to carry out a safe
emergency landing at West Berlin's Tempelhof
Airport. A subsequent inspection of the aircraft's damage at Tempelhof revealed that it had been hit by 89 shots fired from the
Soviet MiGs during the preceding air attack. There were no fatalities among the 17 occupants
(six crew, eleven passengers) despite the severity of the attack. The Soviet military authorities defended this attack on an
unarmed civilian aircraft by claiming the Air France plane was outside the air corridor at the time of attack.[7]
- On September 1, 1953 a Lockheed L-749A Constellation
(registration F-BAZZ) operating the domestic Paris-Nice portion of an international scheduled passenger flight to
Hong Kong crashed into Mount Cemet, France, with the loss of all 42 lives on board. The
accident occurred while the flight deck crew was preparing to land at Nice's Côte d'Azur airport, the aircraft's first scheduled
stop. The subsequent accident investigation established "controlled flight into
terrain (CFIT)" as the cause.[8]
- On April 8, 1957 a Douglas
C-47B (registration F-BEIK) operating a scheduled internal Algerian passenger flight from
Biskra lost height after takeoff and crashed a mile beyond the airport's runway with the loss of
all 34 lives on board.[9]
- On August 29, 1960 a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation
(registration F-BHBC) operating flight AF343 from Paris to Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire), via Dakar, Senegal, crashed into the sea with the loss of all 63 lives on board while the aircraft's flight deck crew
made a second attempt to land at Dakar's Yoff Airport.[11]
- On May 10, 1961 a Lockheed L-1649A Starliner (registration
F-BHBM) operating the Fort Lamy (now N'Djamena),
Chad, to Marseille Marignane portion of Air France's
Brazzaville, Congo - Paris sector as flight
AF406 crashed in the Sahara desert near Edjele, Algeria, with the loss of all 78 lives on board. The aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet when
its empennage suddenly failed. This caused it to break up in flight and crash in the Sahara
desert. The accident investigators believed that the empennage separated from the rest of the aircraft as a result of the
detonation of a nitrocellulose explosive device.[12]
- On September 12, 1961 a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III
(registration F-BJTB) operating the Paris Orly-Rabat-Casablanca sector as flight AF2005 crashed near Rabat's Sale Airport with the
loss of all 77 lives on board. At the time of the accident meteorological conditions in the
local area were unfavourable due to to thick, low fog. The poor weather conditions reduced horizontal visibility and
ceiling. The pilot in command of the aircraft informed ATC that he wanted to attempt a break-through over the NDB. The aircraft was completely destroyed by the post-crash fire when it impacted the ground,
killing everyone on board. The accident investigators cited the commander's error in reading his instruments as the most likely
cause.[13]
- On June 3, 1962 a chartered Boeing 707-328 (registration
F-BHSM)
flying from Orly Airport, Paris, France, to Hartsfield-Jackson
Airport, Atlanta, USA, crashed during
takeoff at Orly. 130 out of a total of 132 people on board were killed. Two flight attendants sitting in the aft (tail or rear) section of the aircraft were saved. The investigation found a faulty
servo motor, which had led to an improper (and non-adjustable) elevator trim. Brake marks measuring 1,500 feet (457 m) were
found on the runway, indicating that the cockpit crew tried to abort takeoff. The aircraft rolled right while only seven feet (2
m) from the ground, causing its right wing to hit the ground. It crashed 50 yards (45 m) from the runway and exploded. [14]
- On June 22, 1962 Air France flight 117, operated with a Boeing
707-328 (registration F-BHST), crashed into a forest on a hill at an altitude of about 4,000 feet during bad weather, while
attempting to land at Point-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, West
Indies, killing all 113 on board. The aircraft was attempting a non-precision NDB approach. A malfunctioning
VOR station and poor NDB reception due to thunderstorms in the area were
blamed for the accident. [15][16]
- On March 6, 1968 a Boeing 707-328C (registration F-BLCJ)
operating the Caracas-Point-à-Pitre sector of Air France flight 212 impacted the southern slope
of La Soufrière Mountain at an altitude of 3,937 feet, 27.5km SSW of Le Raizet Airport with the loss of all 63 lives on board. When ATC had
cleared the flight deck crew for a visual approach to Le Raizet's runway 11, the crew had reported the airfield in sight. Flight
212 started to descend from FL90 and passed Saint
Claude at an altitude of about 4,400 feet. The accident investigators cited a visual approach procedure at night in which
the descent was begun from an incorrectly identified point as the probable cause.
