Investigation Summary
The Malabar Princess was on the third leg of its journey, having departed Cairo for Geneva. As the aircraft approached the Alps, it encountered severe weather conditions including storms and poor visibility. At 10:43 local time, the crew reported being vertical with Voiron at 4,700 meters. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft struck the face of the Rocher de la Tournette. Due to the extreme weather and high-altitude terrain, search and rescue teams could not reach the site for several days. A Swiss aircraft eventually spotted the wreckage on November 5, and ground parties reached the scene on November 7, confirming there were no survivors. The investigation concluded that the crew likely misinterpreted their exact position relative to the high terrain, a situation exacerbated by unfavorable winds and the limitations of 1950s navigational technology.
Final Conclusions
The accident was classified as Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). The primary factors were navigational errors and the misinterpretation of the aircraft's position during the descent into Geneva. Unfavorable wind conditions and stormy weather likely contributed to the aircraft being off course or lower than intended relative to the Mont Blanc massif. The lack of advanced ground-based radar or modern GPS systems at the time meant the crew relied on dead reckoning and basic radio navigation, which proved insufficient in the mountainous environment under adverse weather.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Systems & Failure Modes
Altimeter
Used to determine altitude, but susceptible to false readings in stormy weather and mountainous terrain during the 1950s.
Radio Navigation
The crew relied on radio reports to fix their position, reporting 'vertical with Voiron' shortly before the crash.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a Lockheed L-749A Constellation named 'Malabar Princess'.
- 02The crash site was at an altitude of 4,677 meters (15,344 feet) on the Rocher de la Tournette.
- 03Air India Flight 101 crashed in almost the exact same location 16 years later in 1966.
- 04Mail recovered from the site decades later was successfully delivered to the original addressees by French authorities.
- 05The flight was a scheduled service from Bombay to London via Cairo and Geneva.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Navigational Infrastructure Improvements
The accident highlighted the dangers of high-altitude terrain navigation in poor weather, contributing to the eventual implementation of more robust airway monitoring and secondary surveillance radar in the Alpine region.