Air Inter

Airbus A320

On 20 January 1992, an Airbus A320 registered F-GGED and operated by the company Air Inter, made the scheduled connection by night between Lyon-Satolas and Strasbourg-Entzheim using the call sign ITF 148 DA. The aircraft took off from Lyon at approx. 17.20 hours with 90 passengers, 2 flight crew members and 4 cabin crew members on board. No problems were reported by the crew during the course of the flight. The runway in operation at Strasbourg-Entzheim was 05. After listening to the ATIS announcements, the crew planned to carry out an ILS approach procedure for runway 23, followed by visual manoeuvres for a landing on runway 05. Before transferring the aircraft to Strasbourg Approach Control, the Centre Régional de la Navigation Aérienne (CRNA) Est (Eastern Regional Air Navigation Centre) in Reims cleared it to descend to Flight Level 70 near the ANDLO way point. At 18.09 hours contact was established with Strasbourg Approach Control. While the aircraft was crossing Flight Level 150 in descent its distance to STR VOR was around 22 nautical miles. Strasbourg Control cleared it to continue its descent to an altitude of 5,000 feet QNH, then, after announcing that it had passed ANDLO, cleared it to a VOR-DME approach to runway 05. However, the altitude and speed of the aircraft were such that the direct approach procedure could no longer be carried out and the crew informed Control of their intention to carry out an ILS Rwy 23 approach procedure followed by visual manoeuvres for runway 05. Control warned them that this choice would mean a delay, as three aircraft were in the process of taking off from runway 05, using an IFR flight plan. The crew then modified their strategy and advised Control that they would carry out a complete VOR-DME procedure for runway 05. Control then suggested radar guidance to bring them back to ANDLO, thus curtailing the approach procedure. The aircraft was a few seconds away from STR VOR. The crew accepted and carried out the manoeuvres prescribed by the controller: left turn towards heading 230 for an outbound track parallel to the approach axis, then a reciprocal turn towards the ANDLO point. At 18.19 hours the Controller informed the crew that the aircraft was abeam the ANDLO way point and cleared them to final approach. The aircraft then commenced its descent, approximately at the distance allowed for the approach procedure, i.e. 11 nautical miles from STR VOR. Thirty seconds later the Controller requested the crew to call back passing STR. The crew acknowledged. This was the last contact with the aircraft. The wreckage was discovered at 22.35 hours, on a slope of Mont "La Bloss" at a topographical level close to 800 metres (2,620 feet), at a distance approximately 0.8 nautical miles (1,500 m) to the left of the approach path and 10.5 nautical miles (19.5 km) from the runway threshold. Five crew members and 82 passengers were killed while 9 other occupants, including one crew members, were rescued.

Vickers Viscount

During a short flight from Lyon to Clermont-Ferrand by night, the crew was briefed about poor weather conditions en route and at destination with storm activity, turbulences, heavy rain falls, icing conditions and low ceiling. The crew was cleared to start an ILS approach to Clermont-Ferrand and received the permission to descend to 3,600 feet. In clouds, the four engine airplane struck trees then crashed inverted on the Pic du Picot (1,100 meters high) located in the Forez Mountain Range, near Noirétable. The wreckage was localized seven hours later in the Faye forest. Eight passengers were evacuated while 60 other occupants were killed.

Vickers Viscount

The crew was engaged in a local training flight at Clermont-Ferrand-Aulnat Airport. During the takeoff roll, the instructor voluntarily shut down the engine n°4 to simulate a failure. The pilot-in-command lost control of the airplane that veered off runway to the right and came to rest in a grassy area. While both pilots were uninjured, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Vickers Viscount

Flight IT 2611 was a scheduled domestic flight from Lille to Nice with an intermediate stop at Lyon. It took off from Lille at 1151 hours GMT, on an IFR flight plan. Estimated flying time between Lille and Lyon was 1 hour 21 min., cruising at flight level 150. Until 1300 hours, when it began its descent, the flight had been normal; at 1309:50, it reported to Marseilles Control that it was above Tramoyes at flight level 40, and was cleared to Lyon Approach, which was contacted at approximately 1310Z. The flight was then in position for a direct approach to runway 17. At this point Lyon Control having a Caravelle ready to take off asked the aircraft to hold momentarily over Tramoyes at flight level 30. After having first agreed, the flight reported that it was in a severe storm and requested permission to descend below flight level 25, at 1313 hours. Lyon then cleared the flight for a straight-in approach to runway 17. This was acknowledged by the aircraft, Subsequent calls from Lyon Control were not replied. The flight was seen by witnesses in the heart of a storm flying very low in an easterly direction around 1320 hours. At 1326 the aircraft was not visible on Satolas Control radar. It was subsequently found that the aircraft had hit trees, the roof of a farmhouse and a telephone pole before crashing into a field, 15 km from Lyon/Bron airport, at an altitude of 300 m (100 metres higher than the airport) at approximately 1319 hours. Four occupants, among them a crew member, were seriously injured while 12 other occupants were killed. Few hours later, three of the survivors died from their injuries and a little girl was the only survivor. In the farmhouse, a boy was seriously injured while a second one was killed. Crew: Georges Valencia, pilot, Guy Cleret-Langavant, copilot, Christiane Souleil, stewardess, Liliane Perois, stewardess.