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1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash

Coordinates: 35°40′N 5°26′W / 35.67°N 5.43°W / 35.67; -5.43
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash
OO-SRD, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
DateDecember 22, 1973 (1973-12-22)
SummaryControlled flight into terrain due to pilot error and navigation error
SiteMount Mellaline, near Tanger-Boukhalef Airport, Tangier, Morocco
Aircraft
Aircraft typeSud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 VI-N
OperatorSobelair for Royal Air Maroc
RegistrationOO-SRD
Flight originParis–Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France
StopoverTanger-Boukhalef Airport, Tangier, Morocco
DestinationMohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco
Occupants106
Passengers99
Crew7
Fatalities106
Survivors0

The 1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash occurred on December 22, 1973, when a Sobelair Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 (operating for Royal Air Maroc) crashed near Tangier, Morocco. All 106 people on board were killed.

Aircraft

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The aircraft was a 12-year-old Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 VI-N. Its maiden flight was on February 23, 1961. It was delivered to Sabena on March 1, 1961, and registered as OO-SRD. In April 1971, the aircraft was leased to Sobelair. In December 1973, OO-SRD was subleased to Royal Air Maroc.[1][2][3]

Accident

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The aircraft was leased to Royal Air Maroc to operate a passenger flight from Paris, France, to Casablanca, Morocco, with a stopover in Tangier. Most of the 98 passengers were Moroccan students and workers, as well as French tourists traveling to Morocco for Christmas. Nearly all of the eight crew members were Belgian, except for one Moroccan flight attendant.[4] The aircraft approached runway 28 at Tangier-Boukhalef Airport at night in rainy weather. During the approach, the aircraft made a delayed turn and entered a mountainous area. The crew was assigned a safe holding altitude of 3,000 feet (910 m). The flight was then cleared to land and the aircraft resumed its descent. At 10:10 pm (or 10:07 pm according to some sources, [2]) local time, the aircraft crashed into Mount Mellaline, located 20 miles east of Tangier-Boukhalef Airport at an altitude of 2,300–2,400 feet (700–730 m), killing all 106 people on board. It was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Morocco until the Agadir air disaster in 1975.[5][6] It remains the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Belgian airline and is the second deadliest accident involving a Sud Aviation Caravelle, behind Sterling Airways Flight 296.[7][8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "OO-SRD". SkyStef's Aviation Page. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Sobleair OO-SRD – 12. December 1973". SudAviation.com. SudAviation.com » Everything related to the SE210 Caravelle. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  3. ^ "Crash of a Sud-Est Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI-N near Tetouan: 106 killed". www.baaa-acro.com. Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on 2021-06-14. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  4. ^ "A Jetliner Crashes In Moroccan Hills, Killing 106 Aboard (Published 1973)". The New York Times. 1973-12-24. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  5. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321C JY-AEE Amskroud". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2005-03-17. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  6. ^ Ranter, Harro. "Morocco air safety profile". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2005-11-11. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  7. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VIN OO-SRD Tangier-Boukhalef Airport (TNG)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Archived from the original on 2005-04-21. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  8. ^ "Jetliner Slams Into Mountain; 106 Killed". The Dispatch. 1973-12-24. p. 10. Retrieved 2014-06-14 – via Google News.
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35°40′N 5°26′W / 35.67°N 5.43°W / 35.67; -5.43

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