Investigation Summary
The flight was a short hop from Corsica to mainland France. At 10:30 local time, while descending through 9,000 feet, the crew declared an emergency. The situation deteriorated rapidly, with the final radio transmission at 10:32 stating, 'We will crash if this continues.' The aircraft struck the water at high speed approximately 41 kilometers south of Nice. The BEA investigation focused on a fire in the rear cabin, but the recovery of the wreckage was limited by the depth of the sea (approximately 2,300 meters). Decades later, former military personnel and family advocates have highlighted that a missile test range was active in the area at the time. Allegations of a cover-up include missing pages from naval logbooks and unreadable flight recorder data.
Final Conclusions
The official BEA report concluded that the loss of the aircraft was caused by a cabin fire of undetermined origin that propagated until control was lost. However, in 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron supported the declassification of documents related to the crash following a long-standing campaign by families who believe a stray surface-to-air missile was the true cause.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Michael Salomon, aged 35.
First Officer
Emile Duvinage, aged 32.
Flight Engineer
Roger Juan, aged 38.
Cabin Crew Chief
Michel Gerard, aged 31.
Flight Attendant
Genevieve Tricot, aged 29.
Trainee Flight Attendant
Michele Orry, aged 22.
Systems & Failure Modes
Rear Lavatory / Galley
The official report identified this area as the origin of the fire that led to the loss of control.
Flight Data Recorder
The recorder was recovered but investigators claimed the data for the accident flight was unreadable.
Interesting Facts
- 01At the time of the occurrence, the accident was the deadliest aviation incident in the Mediterranean Sea.
- 02The aircraft was named 'Béarn' and had only 1,001 airframe hours at the time of the crash.
- 03A French navy vessel, Le Suffren, was reportedly in the area conducting exercises.
- 04The 11 September page in the logbook of Le Suffren was found to be missing.
- 05In 2011, a former army employee claimed the plane was hit by a heat-seeking missile that veered off target.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Declassification of Military Documents
In 2019, President Emmanuel Macron asked for the declassification of documents related to the crash to address the missile strike allegations.
Known Controversies & Unanswered Questions
Missile Strike Allegation
Reference ↗Families and some former military personnel dispute the fire theory, alleging the aircraft was accidentally shot down by a French surface-to-air missile during a naval exercise.