Accident description
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| Status: | Final |
| Date: | 05 MAR 1973 |
| Time: | 12:52 |
| Type: | Convair CV-990-30A-5 |
| Operator: | Spantax |
| Registration: | EC-BJC |
| C/n / msn: | 30-10-22 |
| First flight: | |
| Total airframe hrs: | 24775 |
| Engines: | 4 General Electric CJ805-23 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 8 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 99 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 107 |
| Collision casualties: | Fatalities: 68 |
| Airplane damage: | Substantial |
| Airplane fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | Nantes (France) |
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Int'l Non Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD/LEMD), Spain |
| London (unknown airport), United Kingdom | |
| Flightnumber: | 400 |
Iberia Flight 504, a DC-9, departed Palma de Mallorca at 11:24 for a flight to London. At 12:19 the crew contacted Marina Control and reported at FL310, estimating at Nantes VOR at 12:52. At 12:36 the crew were told to contact Menhir Control and descend to FL290. At the same time a Spantax Convair CV-990, flight BX400 heading for London, was flying towards the Nantes VOR on the same altitude, but on a different airway. Because of this, the Convair crew were instructed arrive at the VOR at 13:00. Because the Convair was already quite close to the VOR the crew asked for confirmation of these instructions. At 12:40 the controller told them to 'Stand by' and replied two minutes later. Because the aircraft was at the ATC sector boundary the crew could barely hear the Marina controller who instructed them to contact Menhir control. The pilot erroneously thought he had to contact Menhir control when passing the Nantes VOR. In order to delay their arrival at the VOR the Spantax crew twice tried to request permission to carry out a 360-degree turn. When they did not get any answer from Marina, they initiated the turn without clearance. While in the midst of an overcast, the Convair collided with the DC-9. The CV-990 lost an outboard portion of its left wing and managed to carry out an emergency landing at Nantes. The DC-9 lost control and crashed.
The air traffic control system had been taken over that day by military personnel because of a strike of the civilian controllers.
Sources:
Official accident investigation report
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