Investigation Summary
The flight was the return leg of a charter service that had arrived in Bastia from Nice earlier that morning. The crew departed Bastia at 11:49 UTC, cleared for Flight Level 120 (12,000 feet). During the short transit to Ajaccio, the crew failed to maintain this assigned altitude and did not properly account for the mountainous terrain of central Corsica. At 12:09 UTC, the crew acknowledged weather and runway information from Ajaccio Approach, but three minutes later, the aircraft struck Monte Renoso. The impact occurred 45 km from the Ajaccio VOR on the 048 radial. The investigation highlighted that the flight plan's estimated duration was incompatible with the time required to climb to and maintain safe altitudes for the route. Furthermore, the crew was likely suffering from fatigue, having maintained a strenuous flight schedule over the three days preceding the crash, although they were within legal duty limits.
Final Conclusions
The Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) concluded in its June 1964 report that the primary cause was a series of crew errors, specifically insufficient flight preparation and a failure to maintain safety altitudes. The crew initiated a premature descent and entered instrument meteorological conditions without a precise fix on their position. Contributing factors included a lack of operational supervision by Air Nautic, dangerous and inaccurate route instructions provided to the pilot in command, and crew fatigue resulting from a heavy recent workload.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Roger Mercier
First Officer
Fernand Delime
Systems & Failure Modes
Navigation Instruments
The crew failed to properly utilize navigation aids to verify their position, leading to a false estimation of their distance from Ajaccio.
Flight Planning
The operator's route instructions were found to be dangerous as they did not specify minimum safety altitudes for the turning points.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was a 22 year old Boeing 307 Stratoliner, one of the first pressurized commercial airliners, powered by four Wright R-1820 piston engines.
- 02The impact occurred only 50 meters (165 feet) below the summit of Monte Renoso.
- 03The passengers included members of the Bastia basketball team traveling for a national championship.
- 04The aircraft was written off after rebounding from the rock face and falling 100 meters down the slope.
- 05The aircraft's manufacturer serial number (MSN) was 2001.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Operational Supervision
The investigation recommended increased supervision of charter flight operations to ensure crews receive accurate route instructions and safety altitudes.