Algiers - Mont-de-Marsan

On December 29, 1953 at 10:19 PM, Algiers - Mont-de-Marsan experienced a crash involving Nord 2501 Noratlas, operated by French Air Force - Armée de l'Air, with the event recorded near Setcases Catalonia.

The flight was categorized as military and the reported phase was flight at a mountains crash site.

11 people were known to be on board, 11 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 9, crew fatalities: 9, passengers on board: 2, passenger fatalities: 2, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. The aircraft was performing a flight from Algiers to Mont-de-Marsan Airbase, carrying nine crew members from the Center of Experimentation at Mont-de-Marsan and two SNECMA employees. While cruising by night over the Pyrénées Mountains, the airplane hit the south slope of the Costabonne Peak, on the Spanish territory. The wreckage was found by Spanish rescuers a week later, on January 5, 1954, about 5 km northeast of Setcases. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and all 11 occupants were killed. Crew: Cdt André Auffret, Cpt Roger Kerrien, Cpt Jean Tassa, Lt André Jean Bordes, Lt André Delsahut, Adj André Valy, Sgt Pierre Castera, Sgt Henri Latreille, Sgt Louis Pasquinelli. Passengers: Georges Le Minor, Jean Savean.

Aircraft reference details include registration 02/F-SDAC, MSN 2, year of manufacture 1953.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 42.3753°, 2.3016°.