Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global a ...

has been in operation since 1933. Its aircraft have been involved in a number of major accidents and incidents. The deadliest accident of the airline occurred on June 1, 2009, when

Air France Flight 447 Air France Flight 447 (AF447 or AFR447) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications led to the pilots inadvertently stalling the Airbus A330 ser ...

, an Airbus A330-203, flying from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

to Paris crashed into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

with 228 fatalities. A selected list of the most noteworthy of these events is given below.

1930s

1940s

1950s

;22 January 1950: A Douglas DC-4-1009 (F-BBDB) burned out during maintenance at Orly Airport. During work on an engine, an inspection lamp fell into a tub of oil and fuel. The lamp glass broke, igniting the oil and fuel in the tub. The left wing was in flames before the fire was extinguished. Some parts and the tail went to the Centre d'Instruction de Vilgenis (CIV) while the nose section was used to repair a C-54 (F-BBDD) that was damaged by a SNCASE Languedoc in 1952. ;16 February 1950: An Air France Douglas DC-3A (F-BAOD) overran the runway on landing at Cotonou Airport; there were no casualties. ;12 and 14 June 1950: Two Air France

Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is an American four-engined (piston), propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. Military versions of the plane, the C-54 and R5D, served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960 ...

s (F-BBDF and F-BBDM, respectively) crashed into the sea off

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and a ...

while landing, with a combined loss of 86 lives. The first accident claimed the lives of 40 of the 53 occupants and the second 46 out of 52. Both aircraft had operated the

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, to Bahrain portion of Air France's

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Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

– Paris sector. The accident investigators concluded that the pilot in command did not maintain his correct altitude until the runway lights became visible during the approach to Bahrain in the first accident, and that the pilot in command did not keep an accurate check of his altitude and

rate of descent In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

during the approach procedure in the second accident. In 1994, the wreckage of F-BBDM was found on the seabed. A subsequent re-investigation ruled out pilot error, sabotage and mechanical failure. Using contemporary weather reports archived in the UK, it was determined that extreme weather, now known as microbursts, brought down both DC-4s. The report was relayed to France via its embassy in Bahrain with the recommendation that the pilots be exonerated due to conditions unknown at the time and beyond their capability to counteract. ;30 July 1950: A SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc (F-BCUI) was written off when its undercarriage collapsed on landing at Marignane Airport, Marseille; all 31 on board survived. ;3 February 1951: A Douglas DC-4-1009 (F-BBDO, named ''Ciel de Savoie'') operating Air France's

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, to

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey's population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital dis ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesfeet high

Cameroon Mountain Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenou ...

near Bouea, Cameroon, west of Douala, at a height of . The aircraft was destroyed, killing all 29 occupants. The mountain was probably only partially visible from the flight deck due to the mist surrounding it. Although the pilot immediately turned to the left, the plane hit the steeply rising terrain with its left wing. The accident investigators concluded that the crew followed an inaccurate procedure and relied on imprecise

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation ...

. The investigators furthermore determined that the crew did not check the draft . Moreover, they cited the crew's error of judgement and over-confidence when flying over the mountain mass as additional contributory factors. ;11 August 1951: An Air France Douglas DC-3D (F-BAXB) broke up in mid-air and crashed at Moisville during a training flight out of Le Bourget Airport, killing the five crew. ;2 January 1952: An Amiot AAC.1 (F-BAMQ) crashed at Andapa, Madagascar, killing six of 11 on board. ;3 March 1952: A SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc (F-BCUM) operating a passenger flight from Nice Le Var Airport to Paris Le Bourget Airport crashed shortly after take-off with the loss of all 38 lives on board. Soon after takeoff from Le Var Airport, the aircraft began banking to the left. This increased progressively until the aircraft flipped over on its back and crashed. The accident investigators attributed the accident to the aircraft's blocked

aileron An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...

s to the left, as a result of a mechanical fault related to the

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

. ;7 April 1952: A SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc (F-BATB) was damaged beyond economic repair when it overran the runway on take-off from Le Bourget Airport, Paris. All 23 on board survived; the aircraft was operating an international scheduled passenger flight from Le Bourget to

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, London. ;29 April 1952: A

(F-BELI) operating a German internal service from Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport to

Berlin Tempelhof Airport Berlin Tempelhof Airport (german: Flughafen Berlin-Tempelhof) was one of the first airports in Berlin, Germany. Situated in the south-central Berlin borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg, the airport ceased operating in 2008 amid controversy, lea ...

came under attack from two Soviet

MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

while passing through one of the Allied air corridors over

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

. Although the attack had severely damaged the aircraft, necessitating the shutdown of engines three and four, the pilot landed it safely at

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

's Tempelhof Airport, where an inspection revealed that it had been hit by 89 shots fired from the Soviet MiGs during the air attack. There were no fatalities among the 17 occupants (six crew, eleven passengers). The Soviet military authorities defended this attack on a civilian aircraft by claiming the DC-4 was outside the air corridor at the time of attack. ;10 April 1953: An Amiot AAC.1 (F-BALE) crashed on takeoff from Miandrivazo Airport, Madagascar due to double engine failure, killing four of 15 on board. ;3 August 1953: Air France Flight 152, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (F-BAZS), ditched 6 miles from Fetiye Point,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

, 1.5 miles offshore into the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

on a flight between Rome and

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. Violent vibrations following an unexplained fracture of a propeller blade caused engine number three to break away, and control of engine number four was also lost. Vibrations continued with loss of altitude. The crew of eight and all but four of the 34 passengers were rescued. In 2013 an engine was found, but not the airliner itself. The Turkish Navy rediscovered the nearly intact aircraft in 2018 in 842 feet of water. Following this accident, liferafts were mandated on all flights. ;1 September 1953:

Air France Flight 178 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 ...

, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (F-BAZZ) operating the Paris-

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...

portion of a passenger flight to

crashed into Mount Cemet, France, with the loss of all 42 lives on board. The accident occurred while the flight deck crew was preparing to land at Nice's

Côte d'Azur airport Côte is a British cafe chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London in 2007. There are now over 84 restaurants in the UK (as of June 2022). History The first restaurant was founded wi ...

, the aircraft's first scheduled stop. The flight had deviated from the planned route for unknown reasons. ;3 August 1954: Air France Flight 075, a Lockheed L-1049C Super Constellation (F-BGNA) flying from

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

Idlewild Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Ne ...

force-landed in a field near

Preston, Connecticut Preston is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 4,788 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Long Society, Preston City, and Poquetanuck. History In 1686, Thomas Parke, Thomas Tracy, and seve ...

following fuel exhaustion. All 37 occupants survived. ;25 August 1954: Air France Flight 075, a Lockheed L-749 Constellation (F-BAZI), was written off after it overran the runway at

Gander Airport Gander International Airport is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. Th ...

; all 67 passengers and crew on board survived. ;10 May 1955: A

Breguet Deux-Ponts Breguet or Bréguet may refer to: * Breguet (watch), watch manufacturer **Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747–1823), Swiss watchmaker **Louis-François-Clement Breguet (1804–1883), French physicist, watchmaker, electrical and telegraph work * Bréguet ...

(F-BASQ) made a forced landing in a field at

Pont-Évêque Pont-Évêque () is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. Population Twin towns Pont-Évêque is twinned with: * Glynneath, Wales, since 1993 * Imbersago, Italy, since 2003 See also *Communes of the Isère departmen ...

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Douglas C-47A The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

(F-BAXL) struck power lines and crashed on takeoff from Tille Airport, reportedly killing nine. ;28 January 1956: A Douglas C-47 (F-BCYK) struck telephone lines and crashed while on approach to Bron Airport during a mail flight after the pilot became disorientated, killing the three crew. ;12 December 1956: A Vickers Viscount 708 (F-BGNK) crashed near Dannemois, Île de France while on a training flight due to an unexplained loss of control, killing all five crew on board. ;8 April 1957: A

Douglas C-47 The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...

B (registration F-BEIK) operating an Algerian passenger flight from

Biskra Biskra ( ar, بسكرة ; ; Latin Vescera) is the capital city of Biskra Province, Algeria. In 2007, its population was recorded as 307,987. Biskra is located in northeastern Algeria, about 248 miles (400 km) from Algiers, 71 miles (115&n ...

lost height after takeoff due to engine failure and crashed a mile beyond the airport's runway with the loss of all 32 lives on board, although a source put the death toll at 34. ;31 May 1958: A Douglas C-47A (registration F-BHKV) operating a military charter flight from

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques d ...

to Colomb crashed near Molière with the loss of all 15 lives on board; a source put the death toll at 14. ;24 December 1958: Air France Flight 703, a Lockheed L-749A Constellation (F-BAZX) crashed short of the runway at Schwechat Airport; all 34 on board survived.

1960s

;29 August 1960: Air France Flight 343, a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (F-BHBC) operating from Paris to

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...

via

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, crashed into the sea with the loss of all 63 lives on board while the aircraft's crew made a second attempt to land at Dakar's Yoff Airport. The incident was blamed on a

tropical wave A tropical wave (also called easterly wave, tropical easterly wave, and African easterly wave), in and around the Atlantic Ocean, is a type of atmospheric trough, an elongated area of relatively low air pressure, oriented north to south, which ...

that would become

Hurricane Donna Hurricane Donna, known in Puerto Rico as Hurricane San Lorenzo, was the strongest hurricane of the 1960 Atlantic hurricane season, and caused severe damage to the Lesser Antilles, the Greater Antilles, and the East Coast of the United States, e ...

. ;10 May 1961: Air France Flight 406, a Lockheed L-1649A Starliner (F-BHBM, named ''De Grasse'') operating the

Fort Lamy N'Djamena ( ) is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements''. The city serves as the centre of economic activity in Chad. Meat, fish and cotton processing are th ...

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

, to

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

portion of Air France's

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CL ...

– Paris flight crashed in the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

desert near Edjele,

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

, with the loss of all 78 lives on board. The aircraft was cruising at an altitude of when its

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

failed. This caused it to break up in flight. The accident investigators believed that the empennage separated from the rest of the aircraft as a result of the detonation of a

nitrocellulose Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitric acid and ...

explosive device An explosive device is a device that relies on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide a violent release of energy. Applications of explosive devices include: * Building implosion (demolition) *Excavation *Explosive forming ...

. ;15 June 1961: A

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...

en route from Paris to

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

caught fire while landing at Lisbon Portela de Sacavém as a result of a burst tyre. Although only three out of 109 passengers were slightly injured and most of the baggage, cargo and mail was salvaged, hundreds of chickens on their way to a farm in Central America did not survive the accident. ;27 July 1961: Air France Flight 272, a Boeing 707-328 (F-BHSA, named ''

Chateau de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

'') operating the

polar route A polar route is an aircraft route across the uninhabited polar ice cap regions. The term "polar route" was originally applied to great circle navigation routes between Europe and the west coast of North America in the 1950s. The Arctic Early yea ...

from Paris Orly via

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

Tokyo Haneda , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

veered to the left and ran off the runway at Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel, coming to rest 2,840 m from the starting point in depression containing a building site 140 m from the runway. The accident, which occurred while the aircraft was departing Fuhlsbüttel for Anchorage, severely damaged the aircraft, splitting the fuselage in two places ahead of the wings. As a result, ten of 41 occupants (four of 15 crew members and six of 26 passengers) sustained serious injuries. ;12 September 1961: Air France Flight 2005, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III (F-BJTB) operating a Paris Orly-

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

service crashed near Rabat's airport with the loss of all 77 lives on board. At the time of the accident

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

conditions in the local area were thick, low fog. The poor weather conditions reduced horizontal visibility and

ceiling A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

. The pilot informed ATC that he wanted to attempt a break-through over the NDB. The aircraft was destroyed by fire when it impacted the ground, killing everyone on board. The accident investigators cited the commander's error in reading his instruments as the most likely cause. ;3 June 1962: Air France Flight 007, a chartered Boeing 707-328 (registration ), ''Chateau de Sully'', flying from Orly Airport, Paris, France, to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, crashed at Orly during takeoff. 130 out of 132 people on board were killed. Two flight attendants sitting in the rear section of the aircraft were saved. The investigation found a faulty

servo motor A servomotor (or servo motor) is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration. It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a sensor for position feedback. It also ...

, which had led to an improper (and non-adjustable) elevator trim. Brake marks measuring 1,500 feet (457 m) were found on the runway, indicating that the flight deck crew tried to abort takeoff. The aircraft rolled right while only seven feet (two m) from the ground, causing its right wing to hit the ground. It crashed 50 yards (45 m) from the runway and exploded. Of the passengers 106 were Atlanta art patrons who had finished a tour of European capitals. Ann Uhry Abrams, the author of ''Explosion at Orly: The True Account of the Disaster that Transformed Atlanta'', described the incident as "Atlanta's version of Sept. 11 in that the impact on the city in 1962 was comparable to New York of Sept. 11." This was the deadliest crash in Air France history until the crash of Air France Flight 447. ;22 June 1962:

Air France Flight 117 Air France Flight 117 was a multi-leg international scheduled flight from Paris-Orly Airport via Lisbon, the Azores, Guadeloupe and Peru to Santiago, Chile, which crashed 22 June 1962. The Boeing 707–328 aircraft involved in the accident was ...

, operated with a Boeing 707-328 (F-BHST), crashed into a forest on a hill at an altitude of about during bad weather, while attempting to land at

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Pwentapit, , or simply , ) is the second largest (most populous) city of Guadeloupe after Les Abymes. Guadeloupe is an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, o ...

in Guadeloupe, killing all 113 on board. The aircraft was attempting a non-precision NDB approach. A malfunctioning

VOR VOR or vor may refer to: Organizations * Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales * Voice of Russia, a radio broadcaster * Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race Science, technology and medicine * VHF omnidirectional range, a radio navigation aid used in ...

station and poor NDB reception due to thunderstorms were blamed for the accident. The airframe had accumulated only 985 hours of flying at the time of the accident. After that crash Air France pilots criticized under-developed airports with facilities that were ill-equipped to handle jet aircraft, such as Guadeloupe's airport. ;5 March 1968: Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707-328C (F-BLCJ) operating a

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

-Point-à-Pitre service hit the southern slope of La Soufrière Mountain at an altitude of 3,937 feet, 27.5 km SSW of Le Raizet Airport with the loss of all 63 lives on board. When ATC had cleared the flight deck crew for a visual approach to Le Raizet's runway 11, the crew had reported the airfield in sight. Flight 212 started to descend from FL90 and passed Saint Claude at an altitude of about . The accident investigators cited the probable cause as a visual approach procedure at night in which the descent was begun from an incorrectly identified point. Charlie Juliet had flown for 33 hours since coming off the Boeing production line, and was on her second revenue service (her maiden passenger flight was the previous day's outbound journey from Paris). ;11 September 1968:

Air France Flight 1611 __NOTOC__ Air France Flight 1611 (AF1611) was a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III en route from Ajaccio, in the island of Corsica, to Nice, France, on 11 September 1968 when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off Nice, killing all 95 on bo ...

, a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III (F-BOHB) operating an

Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French: ; it, Aiaccio or ; co, Aiacciu , locally: ; la, Adiacium) is a French commune, prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud, and head office of the '' Collectivité territoriale de Corse'' (capital city of Corsic ...

, Corsica – Nice service, crashed into the sea near

Cap d'Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label= Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Sophi ...

off Nice with the loss of all 95 lives on board. The accident occurred while the flight deck crew attempted an emergency landing at Côte d'Azur Airport, following the detection of a fire in the aircraft's rear cabin 21 minutes after takeoff from Ajaccio. The accident investigators believed that the fire had started in the right lavatory and galley area. In 2011, a former French Army soldier alleged that he saw a report that a missile shot down the aircraft. ;3 December 1969: Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707-328B (F-BHSZ) operating a

-Point-à-Pitre service crashed into the sea shortly after takeoff from Simon Bolivar International Airport with the loss of all 62 on board.

1970s

;12 June 1975: Air France Flight 193, a Boeing 747-128 (N28888) operating the sector between

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

(now

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

), and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

was destroyed by fire on the ground at Bombay's Santa Cruz Airport, following an aborted takeoff. The aircraft's tire on its right-hand main undercarriage had failed while the flight deck crew was executing a 180 degree turn at the beginning of Santa Cruz Airport's runway 27. When the flight deck crew began its takeoff run, another tire failed. At that point the plane's wheels and braking assembly came into contact with the runway, starting a fire. The crew aborted takeoff. The ensuing delay in shutting down the engines, as well as the improper deployment of the airport's fire service, caused the fire to spread, leading to the plane's total destruction. There were no fatalities among the 394 occupants (18 crew and 376 passengers). ;

Operation Entebbe Operation Entebbe, also known as the Entebbe Raid or Operation Thunderbolt, was a counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976. A week ear ...

: On 27 June 1976, an

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

(registration F-BVGG) operating as Flight 139 from

to Paris via

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

was hijacked shortly after departing Athens. After refueling in Benghazi, Libya, the hijackers demanded it be flown to Entebbe, Uganda. One hostage was freed in Benghazi and in Uganda another 155 non-Israeli and/or non-Jewish hostages were released. The flight crew remained with the hostages after Captain Bacos insisted he was responsible for them. After several days of negotiating and diplomatic interventions, Israel launched a heroic commando raid into Entebbe to free them. During the assault, all six of the hijackers were killed as were three hostages. The leader of the rescue mission, Yoni Netanyahu, was also killed. One hostage, 75-year-old Dora Bloch, was unaccounted for. She had been taken to Mulago Hospital prior to the operation and later murdered on Idi Amin's orders. ;14 June 1979: Air France Flight 054, a Concorde suffered a multiple tire burst on take off en route to Paris. Two tires burst, with the subsequent shrapnel piercing the wing, which consequently began to leak fuel. The crew did not notice this, until a passenger alerted the cabin crew to a hole in the wing. When the flight crew was informed, they immediately reduced thrust, and landed at Dulles Airport for a closer inspection. A similar issue for the Concorde occurred 21 years later, led to the Air France Flight 4590 disaster, which had a fatality count of 113 people (100 passengers, 9 crew and 4 people on the ground).

1980s

;17 March 1982: Air France Flight 125, Airbus A300, Airbus A300B4-203 suffered right hand engine failure and explosion during take off from Sana'a International Airport, Yemen. Crew managed to stop the aircraft, but due to the fuel tanks being punctured by parts from the engine, burst into flames. All of 124 people on board survived. ;18 January 1984: Air France Flight 171, a Boeing 747, suffered an explosion in the cargo hold en route from Karachi, Pakistan, to Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, shortly after departing Karachi blew a hole in the right rear cargo hold. The resulting loss of cabin pressure necessitated an immediate descent to . The aircraft returned to Karachi without any fatalities among the 261 occupants (15 crew and 246 passengers). ;2 December 1985: Air France Flight 091, a Boeing 747, Boeing 747-228B (F-GCBC), veered off the runway on landing at the Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International Airport, crossed a ditch and collided with a concrete ramp. There were no fatalities or injuries among the 250 passengers and 23 crew. The aircraft was scrapped. ;21 December 1987: Air France Flight 1919 (on behalf of Air Littoral), an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia (F-GEGH), crashed on final approach to Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport, France. The airplane was not properly established on the Instrument landing system. The airplane descended below the glideslope, and the captain did not contact Bordeaux Tower as requested. The captain took over control of the airplane, attempting to continue the approach. Both crew members had very little time to adapt to their new roles as the airplane was descending below the glide slope. The plane continued to descend until it struck trees and crashed. All 16 occupants (3 crew members and 13 passengers) perished in the accident. ;26 June 1988: Air France Flight 296Q, Airbus A320, Airbus A320-111 (F-GFKC) crashed near Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, in the French region of Alsace. The accident occurred during an airshow while the flight deck crew was performing a flypast at low height and speed. The aircraft overflew the airfield in good weather. Seconds later the aircraft struck treetops behind the runway and crashed into a forest, as a result of flying too low and too slow. Three passengers died and about 50 were injured.

1990s

;12 September 1993 : Air France Flight 072, a Boeing 747-428 registered F-GITA skidded out of runway 22 at Tahiti Faa'a International Airport – Papeete, French Polynesia. No fatalities reported. ; 24 December 1994 : Air France Flight 8969, an Airbus A300, Airbus A300B2-1C (registration F-GBEC) was hijacked at Houari Boumedienne Airport in

, by four terrorists who belonged to the Armed Islamic Group. The terrorists apparently intended to crash the plane into the Eiffel Tower on Boxing Day. After a failed attempt to leave

following a confrontational firefight between the terrorists and the Groupe d'Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale, GIGN French Special Forces, the result was the death of all four terrorists. (Snipers on the terminal front's roof shot dead two of the terrorists. The other two terrorists died as a result of gunshots in the cabin after approximately 20 minutes.) Three hostages including a Vietnamese diplomat were executed, 229 hostages survived, many of them wounded by shrapnel. The almost 15-year-old aircraft was written off. ;5 September 1996: During Air France Flight 437 turbulence caused injuries to thirty people on a Boeing 747 in mid-air, operating O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg to Paris. One passenger died later from injuries received from an in-flight film projection screen. ;20 April 1998: Air France Flight 422: the Air France flight from Bogotá's Eldorado International Airport, El Dorado Airport, to Quito, using a Boeing 727 wet-leased from TAME, crashed into a mountain near Bogotá. All 43 passengers and 10 crew died. Although not an Air France plane, the flight was the final segment of an Air France flight originating in Paris. ;5 March 1999: Air France Cargo Asie Flight 6745, an ex-UTA Boeing 747-200F, Boeing 747-2B3F (SCD) freighter (registration F-GPAN) carrying a Payload (air and space craft), revenue load of 66 metric ton, tons of cargo from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Chennai International Airport, Madras, (now Chennai) India crash-landed, caught fire and burned out. Madras ATC had cleared the aircraft for an instrument landing system, ILS approach to the airport's runway 07. The crew abandoned the approach due to technical difficulties. The aircraft circled to attempt a second approach and at the end of the second approach, the aircraft's nose struck the runway while touching down because its nose gear was either not down or not locked. The plane skidded and came to rest down the 13,050 foot runway. After it had come to a standstill, the crew noticed smoke on the flight deck and began to extinguish the flames. Soon after, flames erupted in the aircraft's front section. One crew member managed to escape from the flight deck via a rope ladder. The remaining four crew members were rescued by the airport fire service from the rear, before the flames engulfed the entire aircraft. The fire service was unable to extinguish the fire and the aircraft burned out.

2000s

;25 July 2000: Air France Flight 4590, a chartered Concorde (F-BTSC) departing from De Gaulle airport in Paris bound for New York's JFK Airport crashed into a hotel in Gonesse, France, just after takeoff. All 109 people on board died along with four people on the ground. According to the accident investigation report, the probable cause was the destruction of one of the aircraft's main wheel tires, as a result of passing at high speed over a part lost by a Continental Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10, DC-10 operating for Continental Airlines Flight 55 during its takeoff run. The piercing of one of the fuel tanks by a piece of the exploding tire ignited the leaking jet fuel and caused a loss of thrust in engine number one and two in quick succession. ;2 August 2005: Air France Flight 358, an Airbus A340-300 (registration F-GLZQ) overshot the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport during a thunderstorm. The plane continued for before coming to rest at the bottom of a ravine at the end of the runway next to Ontario Highway 401. All 297 passengers and 12 crew survived but the plane was completely destroyed by fire. The investigation predominately blamed pilot error when faced with severe weather conditions. The pilots did not enable maximum braking and thrust reverse until 12 seconds after touchdown, the wet runway combined with a tailwind and insufficient braking caused the aircraft to roll off the runway ;1 June 2009:

, an Airbus A330-203 (registration F-GZCP) from Rio de Janeiro to Paris with 228 people on board lost contact with air traffic control while over the Atlantic Ocean, north-east of the Brazilian city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Natal. In the days following the crash only portions of the plane and 51 bodies were found. All passengers and crew members were killed in the crash. It took just under two years to find the black boxes. The BEA's final report stated that the probable cause of the crash was the aircraft's pitot tubes icing over leading the autopilot to disconnect and handing full control of the aircraft to the pilots. The pilots were confused by various warnings and messages from the aircraft's on-board systems and pulled the nose of the plane up to the point where the aircraft Stall (flight), stalled. The pilots failed to recognise that the aircraft had stalled until it was too late to prevent an uncontrolled and rapid descent into the Atlantic Ocean. The crash is the deadliest in Air France's history, as well as the deadliest crash involving the Airbus A330.

2010s

;13 July 2015: Air France Flight 111, a Boeing 777, Boeing 777-300ER (registration F-GSQF) from Shanghai to Paris lost an actuator door after take off, the actuator door dropped down and struck a factory located at No. 28 Yimin Road, Songjiang District, Shanghai, later this was handed over to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) Eastern China Regional Administration to investigate. The plane was safely landed in Paris. Air France stated they were corporated with Boeing to investigate. Boeing published a service bulletin on 18 July for related guidance during maintenance works. The CAAC Eastern China Regional Administration opted not to publish investigation results. ;30 September 2017: Air France Flight 066, an Airbus A380, Airbus A380-800 (registration F-HPJE) from Paris to Los Angeles suffered an in-flight failure of the #4 engine when the main fan and engine inlet separated from the main engine assembly. The plane was diverted to CFB Goose Bay, Goose Bay airport in Newfoundland and Labrador, where it made an emergency landing. The plane landed safely and no passengers or crew were harmed. Passengers reported a loud thud followed by vibrations. The runway the plane landed on had to be cleaned after landing because debris from the engine had littered the runway. Passengers had to stay onboard because the airport does not have capacity to accommodate such large number of passengers from commercial aircraft. Air France dispatched two Boeing 777-300 from Montreal, continuing to take the passengers to Los Angeles. The BEA released its final report in September 2020, indicating that the engine failed from a crack in the Ti-6-4 alloy fan hub caused by Fatigue (material), cold dwell fatigue cracking. ;25 October 2017: Air France Flight 125, a Boeing 777, Boeing 777-300ER (registration F-GSQX) from Beijing to Paris suffered an in-flight fire alarm, and the pilot reported the 7700 code call shortly after takeoff. The aircraft was flown back to Beijing Capital International Airport. ;11 November 2018: Air France Flight 116, a Boeing 777, Boeing 777-300ER (registration F-GSQC) from Paris to Shanghai suffered a mechanical malfunction in flight, and the cabin started smoke. The plane was diverted to Irkutsk. Then Air France dispatched another Boeing 777-300ER (registration F-GSQB) operating Air France Flight 384V from Paris to evaluate passengers, the plane was arrived at Irkutsk in the next day. However, F-GSQB was later found unflyable due to hydraulic icing, so Air France dispatched third Boeing 777-300ER (registration F-GZNE) operating Air France Flight 380V from Paris, the plane was arrived at Irkutsk in the next day, and successfully arrived at Shanghai on 14 November.

2020s

;11 April 2020:An Airbus A330-203 (reg. F-GZCK) operating a repatriation flight between Congo and France sustained minor structural damage after a policeman at Pointe-Noire Airport fired two rounds at the parked plane. No one was injured and the aircraft was flown back to Paris two days later on 13 April, after having a structural inspection conducted by Air France technicians. ;5 March 2021:A Boeing 777-222ER, Boeing 777-228ER (registered F-GSPB) which was not airborne for nearly a year, was graffitied by Greenpeace activists who snuck into Charles de Gaulle Airport, Charles-De Gaulle Airport through ladders. They wanted to visually showcase their criticism of the government by greenwashing air transport. No one was injured. ;3 June 2021: Air France Flight 865, A Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (registered F-HRBF) en route from N'Djamena, N'Djamena, Chad to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Charles-De Gaulle Airport landed in Paris after being escorted by a French Air Force jet after receiving an anonymous threat regarding the presence of an explosive device on board. The aircraft landed normally, and the passengers were evacuated and the incident was being investigated by the French government. ;18 September 2021: Air France Flight 393, A Boeing 777 from Beijing to Paris suffered an explosion in the back of the aircraft cabin shortly after take off, smoke filled the cabin and some pieces shrapneled from the explosion into the cabin. The aircraft was flown back to Beijing Capital International Airport. ;August 2022: It was reported that two pilots were suspended after a fistfight in the cockpit of an Airbus A320 in flight.

Hijackings

Air France has been the target of several aircraft hijacking, hijackings, which are listed in chronological order: * 1973

* 1976 Benghazi (

) and Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon * 1977 Benghazi and Brindisi * 1983 Tehran * 1984 Geneva and Tehran * 1989

* 1993 Air France Flight 2306, Nice * 1994 Air France Flight 8969, Algiers * 1999 Air France Flight 5029, Paris

References

External links

12 June 1950 F-BBDE – Bahrain
– Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile
Archive

14 June 1950 F-BBDM – Bahrain
– Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la Sécurité de l'Aviation Civile {{in lang, fr
Archive
Air France accidents and incidents, Air France–KLM