Basel - Mulhouse - Basel

On June 26, 1988 at 02:45 PM, Basel - Mulhouse - Basel experienced a crash involving Airbus A320, operated by Air France, with the event recorded near Mulhouse-Habsheim Haut-Rhin.

The flight was categorized as demonstration and the reported phase was flight at a airport (less than 10 km from airport) crash site.

136 people were known to be on board, 3 fatalities were recorded, 133 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 2.2%.

Crew on board: 6, crew fatalities: 0, passengers on board: 130, passenger fatalities: 3, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is human factor. A newly delivered Airbus A320, F-GFKC, was destroyed when it impacted trees during a low pass over the runway at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France. A fire broke out, killing three occupants. The Mulhouse Flying Club had requested Air France to perform a fly by at their air show at Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport on June 26, 1988. Air France prepared a low speed pass with the gear down at 100 feet and the another pass at high speed in clean configuration. While Air France had performed more than twenty low passes since 1987, the altitude of 100 feet was not allowed according to regulations. French air safety regulations imposed a minimum VFR overflight height of 170 feet. The fly by was to be performed using an Airbus A320, an aircraft model that was introduced by launching customer Air France in March 1988. F-GFKC was the third A320 in the fleet and had been delivered on June 23. The flight crew scheduled to perform the demonstration flight were two captains: the head of A320 training subdivision (Pilot Flying) and a captain participating in the placing into service of the A320(Pilot Monitoring). On board the flight were four cabin crew members and 130 passengers. The aircraft took off from nearby Basel-Mulhouse Airport at 14:41 and climbed to 1000 feet agl. The crew started the descent three minutes later and Habsheim was in sight at 450 feet agl. The Pilot Monitoring informed the Pilot Flying that the aircraft was reaching 100 feet at 14:45:14. The descent continued to 50 feet 8 seconds later and further to 30-35 feet. Go-around power was added at 14:45:35. The A320 continued and touched trees approximately 60 meters from the end of runway 34R at 14:45:40 with a 14 degree pitch attitude and engines at 83% N1. The plane sank slowly into the forest and a fire broke out.

Aircraft reference details include registration F-GFKC, MSN 009, year of manufacture 1988.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 47.7420°, 7.4312°.