Last updated: 20 February 2019
| Status: | |
| Date: | Friday 22 June 1962 |
| Time: | 04:03 |
| Type: |  Boeing 707-328 |
| Operator: | Air France |
| Registration: | F-BHST |
| C/n / msn: | 18247/274 |
| First flight: | 1962 |
| Engines: | 4 Pratt & Whitney JT4A- |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 10 / Occupants: 10 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 103 / Occupants: 103 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 113 / Occupants: 113 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | 25 km (15.6 mls) WNW of Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport (PTP) ( Guadeloupe)
|
| Crash site elevation: | 427 m (1401 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores (SMA/LPAZ), Portugal |
| Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport (PTP/TFFR), Guadeloupe | |
| Flightnumber: | AF117 |
A Boeing 707-328, operated by Air France, was destroyed when it crashed into a hillside near Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. All 113 on board were killed.
The aircraft, named "Chateau de Chantilly", operated flight AF117 from Paris-Orly (France) to Santiago (Chile) with en route stops at Lisbon (Portugal), Santa Maria (Azores), Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), Caracas (Venezuela), Bogotá (Colombia) and Lima (Peru).
The VOR at Le Raizet Airport was unserviceable when the flight approached Guadeloupe at night. Weather conditions were poor; a violent thunderstorm existed in the area and visibility was 10 km and a ceiling of 1000 feet within the squall. The crew reported over the NDB at 5000 feet and carried out a turn back towards the east to begin its final approach. Incorrect ADF indications, as a result of the thunderstorm, caused the plane to stray 15 km off the procedural let-down track. The Boeing 707 then crashed into a forest on a hill at an altitude of about 1400 feet.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: 1) Breakdown of the VOR; 2) insufficient meteorological information given to the crew; 3) the atmospheric effects on the ADF indicator.
Classification:
LightningstrikeControlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) - Mountain
Sources:
» Aviation Disasters / D. GeroPhotos
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Crash site memorial
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores to Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport as the crow flies is 4217 km (2636 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
Distance from Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores to Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport as the crow flies is 4217 km (2636 miles).
Accident location: Global; accuracy within tens or hundreds of kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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Boeing 707
- 858 built
- 9th loss
- 8th fatal accident
- 2nd worst accident (at the time)
- 11th worst accident (currently)
Guadeloupe- The worst accident