Air France Flight 1611
 A Caravelle similar to the one that crashed | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 11 September 1968 |
| Summary | Airliner shot down, missile attack |
| Site | Mediterranean Sea |
| Aircraft type | Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III |
| Aircraft name | Bearn[1] |
| Operator | Air France |
| Registration | F-BOHB |
| Passengers | 89 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 95 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
Air France Flight 1611 was a Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III en route from the island of Corsica to Nice, France on 11 September 1968 when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off Nice, killing all 95 on board. According to the official report, the crash was non-survivable.[2]
Among the dead was French general René Cogny.
The probable cause was attributed to a fire which originated in the rear of the cabin.
A radio programme broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on 26 November 2007 advanced the theory that the accident was the result of a missile strike or bomb, and that the true cause has been suppressed by the French Government under secrecy laws.
On 10 May 2011 Michel Laty, a former military secretary, declared on French television channel TF1 that a missile, misfired by the French army during a weapon test, in fact caused the crash.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III F-BOHB Nice, France". Aviation Safety Network. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ Rapport Finale sur l'accident survenu le 11 septembre 1968 au large du cap d'Antibes au SE 210 F-BOHB, (PDF) BEA, 14 December 1972. From the BEA website. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
- ^ "TV documentary reveals that military missile did kill 95 people". The Riveria Times. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
External links
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- BBC Radio 4 Programme notes
- Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- Template:Fr icon Official report by the inquiry board of the French ministry of transportation (Archive)
English language website with full details of this crash, subsequent investigation and the mysteries that surround it :
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight fires
- Airliner shootdown incidents
- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1968
- Aviation accidents and incidents in France
- Air France accidents and incidents
- 1968 in France
- Accidents and incidents involving the Sud Aviation Caravelle