Investigation Summary
The flight was scheduled to fly from Paris to Nice via Montélimar, where it was expected to turn southeast toward the coast. Instead, the aircraft was found to have crashed approximately 150 kilometers east of its intended path over Montélimar, at a location roughly 80 km northwest of Nice. At 23:25, the crew requested and received permission to descend from 13,600 feet to 11,500 feet, reporting violent local storms in the area. Five minutes later, witnesses in the valley saw the aircraft strike the mountainside and burst into flames. The crash site was located at an elevation of about 2,870 meters (9,416 feet) on Mont Le Cimet. Rescue efforts were severely hampered by the rugged alpine terrain, with the first parties taking nearly six hours to reach the wreckage on foot.
Final Conclusions
The investigation concluded the cause was controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) resulting from an unexplained navigation error. The aircraft was significantly off course at the time of the crash, positioned in the high Alps rather than the lower terrain of the Rhone valley. While the crew had reported severe weather shortly before the impact, it was never determined why the aircraft had deviated so far to the east of its planned airway.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Navigation Equipment
The aircraft deviated from its planned airway via Montélimar for reasons that could not be determined by investigators.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was approximately 150 kilometers east of its intended flight path over Montélimar.
- 02Among the victims was the famous 72-year-old French violinist Jacques Thibaud.
- 03Renowned French pianist René Herbin was also among the fatalities.
- 04Thibaud's 1720 Stradivarius violin was destroyed in the accident.
- 05The aircraft struck the mountain at an altitude of approximately 2,870 meters.
- 06The flight was the first segment of a multi-stop route to Saigon, with planned stops in Nice, Beirut, Baghdad, Karachi, and Calcutta.