Union des Transports Aériens - UTA

Douglas DC-10

The DC-10 departed N'Djamena Airport at 1313LT bound for Paris-Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Forty-six minutes later, while cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet over Niger, the aircraft disappeared from radar screens and the crew did not send any distress call. It was quickly understood that the aircraft exploded in mid-air and crashed somewhere in the desert. SAR operations were initiated and the wreckage was found a day later in the Ténéré Desert, about 650 km north of N'Djamena, northeast from the Termit Mountain Range. Debris scattered on 100 km2 and none of the 170 occupants survived the crash.

Douglas DC-6

The aircraft was flying a scheduled international passenger flight from Paris to Marseilles, Palma de Mallorca and Port-Etienne. The trip to Palma was uneventful and, following receipt of the latest meteorological information available, the aircraft took off from runway 27 for Port-Etienne at 0314 hours GMT. According to its flight plan the air- craft was to check with the following while en route: area control centres at Barcelona, Seville, Casablanca and Dakar and the control tower at Port-Etienne. At 0339 hours, it advised Palma control tower that it was over Ibiza. It reported to Barcelona FIR that it had crossed the FIR boundary at 0401 hours at flight level 100. At 0353 hours, it reported to Seville FIR that it was estimating the FIR boundary at 0401 at flight level 100 and Los Alcazares at 0415 hours. At 0420 hours, it reported having passed Los Alcazares in clear skies at 0415 hours, estimating abeam Malaga at 0500 hours, overhead Tanger at 0524, and Port-Etienne at 1020 hours. This was the last communication from the flight. Seville FIR tried subsequently, without success, to contact the aircraft. The aircraft hit a mountain at 0445 hours.