Madrid – Paris

On December 21, 1960 at 12:00 AM, Madrid – Paris experienced a crash involving Rockwell Aero Commander 520, operated by Private American, with the event recorded near Bilbao-Sondica Basque Country.

The flight was categorized as private and the reported phase was landing (descent or approach) at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

1 people were known to be on board, 1 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 1, crew fatalities: 1, passengers on board: 0, passenger fatalities: 0, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. The pilot, sole on board, was completing a flight from Madrid to Paris. While in cruising altitude, he encountered technical problems with an engine and requested the permission to divert to Bilbao-Sondica Airport. On final approach, following an uneventful descent, the airplane stalled and crashed 500 meters short of runway threshold. The aircraft, owned by S. Sehranger, was destroyed and the pilot was killed.

Aircraft reference details include registration N2631B, MSN 520-143, year of manufacture 1954.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 43.3018°, -2.9190°.