Accident Boeing 707-328 F-BHST, Friday 22 June 1962

Date:	Friday 22 June 1962
Time:	04:03
Type:	Boeing 707-328
Owner/operator:	Air France
Registration:	F-BHST
MSN:	18247/274
Year of manufacture:	1962
Engine model:	P&W JT4A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 113 / Occupants: 113
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	25 km WNW of Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport (PTP) - Guadeloupe
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:	Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores (SMA/LPAZ)
Destination airport:	Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport (PTP/TFFR)

Narrative:
Air France flight 117, a Boeing 707-300, impacted a mountain while on approach to Pointe-à-Pitre-Le Raizet Airport, Guadeloupe, killing all 113 occupants.

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: 1) Breakdown of the VOR; 2) insufficient meteorological information given to the crew; 3) the atmospheric effects on the ADF indicator.

Sources:

Aviation Disasters / D. Gero

Location

Images:

photo (c) Pascal Vieville; Guadeloupe; 14 March 2007