The aircraft was a four-engined Lockheed L-749 Constellation piston-engined airliner registered F-BAZZ, construction number 2674, that had first flown in 1951 in the United States and had been delivered to Air France on 18 July 1951.[2] The Constellation had left Orly at 22:00 and was due at Nice at 23:55. At 23:25 the aircraft requested permission to descend from 13,600 ft (4 145 m) to 11,500 ft (3 505 m) and reported violent local storms.[1] Around 23:30 villagers at Fours-St. Laurent saw the aircraft crash into the side of Mont Le Cimet, about ten miles (16 km) away. The aircraft struck the ground about 500 ft (150 m) below the summit and burst into flames.[1]
A rescue party from Fours left about 90 minutes after the accident, but did not arrive at the scene until 5:25, they were joined by a doctor and nurse from Barcelonnette and two teams from the Chasseurs Alpins.[1] The Chasseurs Alpins were equipped with radio and reported at 6:45 that no survivors had been found.[1] The accident investigation established "controlled flight into terrain (CFIT)" as the cause.[3] The aircraft had 33 passengers, 30 bound for Saigon and three for Beirut. Three of the passengers were the 72-year-old French violinist Jacques Thibaud, his daughter-in-law and his accompanist.[1] Thibaud's 1720 Stradivarius violin, "Thibaud", was also destroyed in the crash.[4]
^*"Famous Air Crash Victims - Part 2: Musicians". bbc.co.uk. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
External linksedit
Aviation Safety Network report
Photos of the accident site in 2009
January 01, 1970
france, flight, september, 1953, france, lockheed, constellation, registered, france, bazz, flying, flight, scheduled, flight, from, paris, nice, crashed, into, pelat, massif, french, alps, near, barcelonnette, first, stage, flight, between, orly, airport, nic. On 1 September 1953 an Air France Lockheed L 749 Constellation registered in France as F BAZZ flying Flight 178 a scheduled flight from Paris to Nice crashed into the Pelat Massif in the French Alps near Barcelonnette on the first stage of the flight between Orly Airport and Nice Airport 1 2 All 42 on board were killed nine crew and 33 passengers including the French violinist Jacques Thibaud and the French pianist Rene Herbin 1 Air France Flight 178A Lockheed L749A similar to the accident aircraftAccidentDate1 September 1953SummaryUnexplained navigation error CFITSiteMont Le Cimet near Barcelonnette France 44 17 27 09 N 6 41 56 04 E 44 2908583 N 6 6989000 E 44 2908583 6 6989000AircraftAircraft typeLockheed L 749A ConstellationOperatorAir FranceRegistrationF BAZZFlight originOrly Airport Paris France1st stopoverNice Airport France2nd stopoverBeirut International Airport Lebanon3rd stopoverBaghdad Iraq4th stopoverJinnah International Airport Karachi PakistanLast stopoverDum Dum Airport IndiaDestinationTan Son Nhat International Airport VietnamPassengers33Crew9Fatalities42Injuries0Survivors0 The aircraft was a four engined Lockheed L 749 Constellation piston engined airliner registered F BAZZ construction number 2674 that had first flown in 1951 in the United States and had been delivered to Air France on 18 July 1951 2 The Constellation had left Orly at 22 00 and was due at Nice at 23 55 At 23 25 the aircraft requested permission to descend from 13 600 ft 4 145 m to 11 500 ft 3 505 m and reported violent local storms 1 Around 23 30 villagers at Fours St Laurent saw the aircraft crash into the side of Mont Le Cimet about ten miles 16 km away The aircraft struck the ground about 500 ft 150 m below the summit and burst into flames 1 A rescue party from Fours left about 90 minutes after the accident but did not arrive at the scene until 5 25 they were joined by a doctor and nurse from Barcelonnette and two teams from the Chasseurs Alpins 1 The Chasseurs Alpins were equipped with radio and reported at 6 45 that no survivors had been found 1 The accident investigation established controlled flight into terrain CFIT as the cause 3 The aircraft had 33 passengers 30 bound for Saigon and three for Beirut Three of the passengers were the 72 year old French violinist Jacques Thibaud his daughter in law and his accompanist 1 Thibaud s 1720 Stradivarius violin Thibaud was also destroyed in the crash 4 See also edit nbsp Aviation portal nbsp France portal List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by location FranceReferences edit a b c d e f g Thibaud Killed in Air Crash The Times No 52717 London 3 September 1953 p 6 a b Eastwood Tony John Roach 1991 Piston Engine Airliner Production List The Aviation Hobby Shop p 237 ISBN 0 907178 37 5 Accident description for Air France Constellation F BAZZ at the Aviation Safety Network Famous Air Crash Victims Part 2 Musicians bbc co uk 1 December 2006 Retrieved 8 November 2009 External links editAviation Safety Network report Photos of the accident site in 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Air France Flight 178 amp oldid 1197525112, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
