Caravelle – Accidents

Accidents Caravelle

Globalement la Caravelle a été un avion plus sûr que ses homologues. Ce fut le seul avion commercial dont les primes d’assurances baissèrent au cours de son exploitation.

  • 67 Caravelle (23% de la production) furent détruites en service dont:
    • 40 dû à des facteurs humains dont 18 collisions avec le relief.
    • 8 pour cause d’attentats ou sabotages.
    • 3 pour cause d’incendie.
    • 16 accidents/incidents dont le coût de réparation était jugé trop élevé.
Date Type (serial number) Registration killed (paxs)
19.01.60 Caravelle I (14) OY-KRB 42 (42)
SAS.
Arrivée sur Ankara.
S’écrase pendant la descente.
Mauvaise condition météo.
Taux de descente.
Istanbul-Ankara
19.05.60 Caravelle III (28) F-OBNI 2 (?)
Air Algérie.
Arrivée sur Orly.
Collision en vol avec un Stampe.
Ouverture de 10 m dans la partie supérieure du fuselage.
Le pilote du Stampe et un passager furent tués.
L’avion réussit à atterrir.
12.09.61 Caravelle III (68) F-BJTB 77 (77)
Air France.
Arrivée sur Rabat (Maroc).
Impact sol durant descente.
Erreur de lecture de 1000 pieds sur l’altimètre.
Paris – Rabat
27.09.61 Caravelle III (15) PP-VJD 0 (71)
Varig.
Atterrissage trop court.
Impact violent avant le seuil de piste. L’avion part sur la gauche, le train s’efface, et suite à des étincelles l’avion prend feu.
L’épave sera détruite à l’aide d’explosifs le 27 septembre.
Aucun blessé.
Rio – Brasilia
03.07.63 Caravelle VIN (127) LV-HGY 0 (70)
Aerolineas Argentinas.
Approche finale Cordoba.
Plafond à 150 m.
L’avion est détruit par le feu après s’être posé trop court.
L’avion s’arrête 280 m avant le seuil de piste, après avoir touché des arbres, rupture des réservoirs de carburant.
Combinaison non reconnue des procédures d’approche NDB et VOR. Descente en dessous des minima de sécurité.
Mendoza – Cordoba
04.09.63 Caravelle III (147) HB-ICV 80 (80)
Swissair.
The crash was due to the destruction of essential structural parts of the aircraft by a fire caused by overheating of thre brakes during the taxiing phase.
Dürrenäsch (Switzerland)
06.09.63 Caravelle VIR (118) PP-PDU 0 ( )
Panair do Brasil.
When descending through 1800 m the crew were surprised by the lights of another aircraft. To avoid possible collision the Caravelle was brusquely manouevred upwards. Landing at Recife-Guarapes at 22.09h was normal.
Gamela (Brazil)
17.04.64 Caravelle III (23) OD-AEM 49 (49)
Middle East Airlines.
Final Approach flight ME444.
Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)
15.02.66 Caravelle VIN (130) VT-DPP 2 (80)
Indian Airlines.
The Caravelle undershot Runway 28 in conditions of poor visibility. The aircraft struck a cement pilar and other obstructions and caught fire.
The Government has accepted that the aircraft undershot and crashed as a result of the abandonment of the ILS approach at too early a stage during an attempt to land under conditions of poor visibility in fog. Contributory causes: 1) Lack of information with the pilot regarding the true conditions of surface visibility, which was in fact below the minimum prescribed for a night landing by Caravelle aircraft on runway 28 at Palam. 2) Lack of proper monitoring and possibly incorrect setting of altimeter(s) during the approach to land. 3) The use of landing lights which resulted in glare during the final stages of the approach in foggy conditions.
Delhi (India)
04.09.66 Caravelle VIN (134) VT-DSB 4 (4)
Indian Airlines.
The Caravelle struck a hill at 800ft msl during a practice circuit and landing with a simulated engine failure.
Mumbai – Bombay (India)
30.06.67 Caravelle III (25) HS-TGI 24 (80)
Thai Airways International.
The aircraft was making an ILS approach to Runway 31 during a heavy rainstorm. The captain was busy seeking visual contact with the ground and didn’t notice the descend through the minimum altitude of 415ft. The co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, made an abrubt heading change (while already 80ft below the glideslope) and was possibly caught by downdraught, causing the aircraft to enter a high rate of descent and a crash into the sea short of the runway.
a) The pilots did not adhere to the Thai Airways procedure for a ‘Captain monitored’ approach in bad visibility.
b) The captain did not monitor the approach adequately
c) The co-pilot mishandled the aircraft after descending below minimum altitude; downdraughts may be contributed to the height loss which resulted from this mishandling.
Hong Kong
04.11.67 Caravelle 10R (202) EC-BDD 37 (37)
Iberia.
The Caravelle descended throught the assigned level of FL60 and flew into the southern slope of Black Down Hill.
The accident was due to the aircraft having continued to descend through its assigned flight level down to the ground. No reason could be established for the continued descent: (HMSO CAP 343)
Black Down Hill (UK)
11.09.68 Caravelle III (244) F-BOHB 95 (95)
Air Inter.
A fire originated in the rear of the cabin, some 21 minutes after takeoff. An emergency was declared, but the Caravelle crashed into the sea off Nice.
Nice (France)
28.12.68 Caravelle VIN (153) OD-AEE 0 (0)
Middle East Airlines.
In a retalliation against Lebanon for an Arab terrorist attack on a Boeing aircraft in Athens, 8 Israeli Air Force Super Frelon helicopters landed at Beirut International Airport at night. Commandos set fire to, and destroyed 14 Lebanese aircraft.
Beirut IAP (Liban)
09.07.69 Caravelle III (34) HS-TGK 0 (75)
Thai Airways International.
The Caravelle approached Bangkok in heavy rain and thunderstorms when the ILS equipment failed. The approach was continued by reference to the VOR. The runway was sighted at 700ft altitude, but the aircraft was slightly high and left of the centreline. At 300ft, with an airspeed of 127kts (planned approach speed being 122kts) the aircraft was still a little high. The first officer, who was flying the approach, reduced the speed to 122kts, but the speed continued to decrease and the sinkrate increased. The pilot took over control, but the Caravelle made a very heavy landing, forcing the maingear through the wings. Downdraughts were present in the area.
Bangkok
26.07.69 Caravelle VIN (73) 7T-VAK 33 (37)
Air Algérie.
A fire reportedly broke out in the electrical compartment. The Caravelle crashed in flames while carrying out an emergency landing.
Biskra (Algeria)
02.08.69 Caravelle VIN (179) I-DABF 0 (44)
Alitalia.
The aircraft approached at 50kts above Vref and touched down far down the runway. The tail parachute was released, but burst on opening. The Caravelle then overran into Etang de Berre.
Marseille-Marignane (France)
01.04.70 Caravelle III (32) CN-CCV 61 (82)
Royal Air Maroc.
Initial Approa flight Agadir-Inezgane APT.
The aircraft crashed on approach when it lost control at a height of about 500ft. The fuselage broke in two.
Berrechid (Morocco)
04.01.71 Caravelle III (214) F-BNKI 0 (0)
Air Inter.
Damaged by fire.
Paris-Orly (France)
22.01.71 Caravelle III (145) XU-JTA 0 (0)
Air Cambodge.
Damaged during hostile activities of the communist ‘Khmer Rouge’ rebels.
Phnom Penh-Po Chetong APT (Cambodia)
21.11.71 Caravelle III (122) B-1852 25 (25)
China Airlines.
The aircraft crashed into the sea on a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong. Bomb explosion.
Penghu Island
07.01.72 Caravelle VIR (163) EC-ATV 104 (104)
Iberia.
The Caravelle struck a 415m high mountain, 30m below the summit during a straight-in approach to Runway 07.
Sierra de Atalayasa (Spain)
14.03.72 Caravelle 10B3 (267) OY-STL 112 (112)
Sterling Airways.
The Caravelle hit a mountain ridge at 1600ft 50nm from the airport. The aircraft was on a straight-in approach to runway 30 out of FL135 at the time.
Descended below minimum prescribed altiude, probably because the pilots thought they were closer to Dubai than they actually were, due to incorrect information on the outdated flight plan and/or due to a misreading of the weather radar.
Dubai, 50nm
(United Arab Emirates)
xx.02.73 Caravelle III (191) YU-AJG 0 ( )
JAT.
Damaged beyond repair on landing.
Belgrade
05.03.73 Caravelle 10R (228) EC-BID 3 (3)
Aviaco.
Struck the water during the approach. The aircraft sank to a depth of 740m. The wreckage could not berecovered, so it was not possible to establish the cause.
Funchal (Portugal)
01.06.73 Caravelle VIN (126) PP-PDX 23 (23)
Cruzeiro do Sul.
A go-around was initiated from an altitude of about 90m, while on final approach to Sao Luis. The aircraft attained an extreme nose-up attitude, stalled and crashed in a right bank, 760m to the right of the runway. Investigations revealed that the no.1 engine wasn’t developing any power when the aircraft struck the ground.
Sao Luis-Marechal Cunha Machado APT (Brazil)
03.07.73 Caravelle VIN (128) VT-DPO 0 (15)
Indian Airlines.
The Caravelle landed with excessive speed, causing the nosegear to collapse. A fire erupted in the nosegear area, but was extinghuised within 3-4 minutes. The co-pilot handled the control stick at a critical moment.
Bombay (India)
14.07.73 Caravelle VIR (98) OY-SAN 0 ( )
Sterling Airways.
The aircraft taxied into an obstruction and was damaged beyond repair as a result.
Stockholm
13.08.73 Caravelle 10R (225) EC-BIC 85 (85)
Aviaco
Final Approach flight Madrid-Barajas
La Coruna (Spain)
21.08.73 Caravelle III ( 20) YV-CAVI 0 ( )
AVENSA.
A wing struck the runway on touchdown; damaged beyond repair.
Barquisimeto (Vénézuela)
11.09.73 Caravelle VIN (151) YU-AHD 41 (41)
JAT.
The Caravelle struck the Maganick Mountain at 6300ft, while descending from FL90 to FL60 in IMC conditions.
Titograd (Yugoslavia)
23.09.73 Caravelle III (28) 7T-VAI 0 ( )
Air Algérie.
The aircraft was damaged beyond repair after a landing accident.
Alger-Houari Boumediene (Algeria)
29.09.73 Caravelle VIR ( 171) EC-BBR 0 (0)
Iberia.
Hangar fire.
Madrid-Barajas (Spain)
05.11.73 Caravelle VIR (226) EC-BIA 0 (0)
Iberia.
Caught fire on ground.
Madrid-Barajas (Spain)
22.12.73 Caravelle VIN (38) OO-SRD 106 (106)
Royal Air Maroc.
The aircraft, leased from Sobelair, operated on a Paris-Casablanca via Tanger flight. The Caravelle approached Tanger in darkness and rain when the pilot extended the outbound procedural turn too far East, causing the plane to overfly hazardous terrain. At 22.10h the aircraft crashed into a mountain at 2300ft.
Mt. Mellaline (Morocco)
23.12.73 Caravelle VIR (120) PP-PDV 0 (58)
Cruzeiro do Sul.
The aircraft made a high and fast straight-in approach to Runway 26. The aircraft touched down 848m past the threshold, aquaplaned off the runway and went down a slope at a speed of 80kts.
Manaus (Brazil)
25.01.74 Caravelle III (6) OY-KRA 0 (0)
SAS.
Damaged beyond repair.
Stockholm-Arlanda (Sweden)
15.03.74 Caravelle 10B3 (266) OY-STK 15 (96)
Sterling Airways.
The Caravelle was backtracking Runway 29L when the crew were asked to expedite taxying and clear the runway on the run-up area because of traffic on finals. While initiating a left turn at the end of the runway the right maingear collapsed. The right wing fueltank ruptured and the escaping fuel iginited while the Caravelle slid for 90m before coming to rest.
Tehran-Mehrabad IAP (Iran)
22.03.74 Caravelle III (258) F-BSRY 0 ( )
Air Inter.
On the ground an explosion occurred in the forward landing gear compartment, causing substantial damage.
Ground flight – Marseille-Marignane APT
Bastia (France)
22.06.74 Caravelle VIR (96) PH-TRH 0 ( )
Transavia Holland.
Takeoff nighttime from Amsterdam-Schiphol Airport was aborted and the crew decided to taxy back to the terminal. While taxying to a parking spot on the apron, the left wing tip struck a blast fence, causing substantial damage. The Caravelle was withdrawn from use and scrapped. .
Amsterdam-Schiphol
17.06.75 Caravelle VIN (216) VT-DVJ 0 (93)
Indian Airlines.
Touched down far along the runway at a high speed and overran.
Bombay (India)
28.08.76 Caravelle III (83) F-BSGZ 1 (20)
Air France. Ho Chi Minh Ville (Vietnam)
12.10.76 Caravelle VIN (231) VT-DWN 95 (95)
Indian Airlines.
A no.2 engine failure after take-off from Runway 27 forced the crew to return to Bombay. A fire erupted in the no.2 engine area, reaching the hydraulic reservoir (located aft of the pressure bulkhead), drainging it of all but accumulated pressure. Pitch control was lost while on approach to Runway 09; the aircraft crashed 45-deg. nosedown into the ground from a height of 300ft, 1000ft short of the runway.
10th Stage compressor disc failure; fuel lines were severed by debris, causing a fire in the no.2 engine area. The fire spread because the crew didn’t shut off the fuel supply.
Bombay
09.12.77 Caravelle VIN (192) F-BYAU 0 ()
Aerotour.
Gear collapse on landing
Oujda (Morocco)
18.12.77 Caravelle 10R (200) HB-ICK 36 (57)
SATA.
The aircraft was on an NDB approach to Runway 06 when it struck the sea on base leg. The pilot was on his first flight to Funchal. The altitude on the downwind leg was 600ft QNH. When the aircraft struck the sea with the altimeter indicating 500 ft.
Funchal Madeira (Portugal)
12.03.79 Caravelle III (31) F-BHRL 0 (41)
Air France.
The pilot-in-command diverted from the guideline and the aircraft collided with a fence and obstruction lights marking construction work. The right wing tank sustained subtantial damage, leading to the loss of 500 kg fuel.
Frankfurt-Rhein Main (Germany)
20.07.79 Caravelle VIR (140) HK-1778 0 (57)
Aerotal Colombia.
A bang in the rear of the aircraft was followed by warning lights indicting problems with the left main landing gear. The hydraulic system failed and the aircraft depressurised. The crew elected to return to Bogota. Two touch-and-goes were carried out, but the left maingear remained retracted. The aircraft finally touched down on Runway 12, veered to the left and came to rest across a canal.
Bogota (Colombia)
12.09.79 Caravelle VIR (137) HC-BFN 0 ( )
SAN Ecuador. ?
19.06.80 Caravelle VIR (95) N905MW 0 (4)
Midwest Air Charter.
Lockheed TriStar wake vortex caused the Caravelle to land heavily at the approach end of Runway 26. The left maingear collapsed and the Caravelle came to rest 4526 ft past the runway 26 threshold and 250 ft left of the centreline.
Atlanta-W.B. Hartsfield, GA (USA)
21.12.80 Caravelle VIR (165) HK-1810 70 (70)
TAC Colombia
At 14.18hrs the Caravelle took off from Rio Hacha for a flight to Medellin. Five minutes after take-off an explosion occurred and there appeared to be a fire in the right-hand aft portion of the aircraft. The Caravelle went out of control and crashed. The aircraft was on its first scheduled flight after 17 months of maintenance work. It’s not known for sure whether the explosion was caused by a bomb or not.
Guajira (Colombia)
29.04.83 Caravelle VIR (125) HC-BAT 8 (100)
SAN Ecuador
One of the aircraft’s engines failed after take-off. The Caravelle landed heavily in muddy ground, while attempting to return. The aircraft broke in three.
Guayaquil-Simon Bolivar (Equador)
02.07.83 Caravelle III (54) F-BHRS 0 (89)
Altair Linee Aeree
At 75-80 kts into take-off the n° 2 engine suffered an uncontained failure of the 14th stage compressor disc. The engine caught fire and the take-off was aborted immediately. Fatigue failure of the 14th stage disc.
Milano-Linate (Italy)
18.01.86 Caravelle III (40) HC-BAE 87 (87)
Aerovias
The Caravelle took off from Guatemala City at 07.00h. The aircraft crashed in a hilly jungle area after executing a second missed approach procedure. Low lying clouds in the area forced the crew to carry out the missed approaches.
Flores-Santa Elena el Peten, 5 miles (Guatemala)
06.08.86 Caravelle III (50) 5N-AWK 0 (0)
Kabo Air
Overran runway on landing.
Calabar (Nigeria)
27.11.86 Caravelle 11R (260) HK-2850X 0 (5)
Aerosucre Colombia.
Take-off was aborted because of elevator ‘stiffness’. The aircraft overran the 2100 m long runway, crossing a drainage ditch.
Arauca-Santiago Perez (Colombia)
06.01.87 Caravelle 10R (263) SE-DEC 0 (27)
Transwede.
The nose pitched down at a height of 10 m after takeoff. The Caravelle hit the runway hard causing the landing gear to fail. The aircraft slid off the runway and caught fire. Flight control problems and ice accumulation on the stabilizer.

Stockholm-Arlanda
26.04.89 Caravelle 11R (219) HK-3325X 5 (5)
Aerosucre Colombia
Crashed into houses after takeoff.
Barranquilla ( Colombia)
29.09.91 Caravelle 11R (215) HK-3288X 0 (3)
Aerosucre Colombia
The maingear failed during the takeoff run, causing the Caravelle to veer off the runway.
Bogota-Eldorado (Colombia)
06.05.93 Caravelle 10B3 (182) HK-3835X 0 (4)
SERCA Colombia.
Touched down hard causing the undercarriage to collapse. The fuselage failed fore and aft of the wing.
Cayenne-Rochambeau
15.03.94 Caravelle 10B (265) HK-3855 0 (6)
SEC Colombia.
One of the mainwheel tyres burst on take-off. The take-off was continued and a holding pattern was flown for 2 hours to burn up fuel. The aircraft then landed far down the Bogota runway and when an overrun seemed unavoidable, the pilot undercarriage was retracted. The Caravelle slid past the runway end, crossing a ditch before coming to rest 100m further on. The aircraft was carrying a cargo of 70 boxes of dynamite.
Bogota-Eldorado (Colombia)
04.11.95 Caravelle 10B3 (184) HK-3962X 0 (0)
Americana ColombiaFreight.
The plane received a fake registration (HK-4029X) and was loaded with tons of cocaine.At night, the aircraft landed very hard and the nose wheel was damaged. Mexican federal police cut off both wings and destroyed the plane to hide the plane from the « US-anti Drug force ».
Cabu San Lucas (Mexico)
14.04.00 Caravelle III (105) 9Q-CZZ 0 (0)
Congolese Army.
A major fire erupted in a warehouse on the Kinshasa Airport and spreading to a cargo of ammunition. Some 100 people on the ground are said to have been killed. Aircraft destroyed in the fire included a Congo Army Caravelle, a Government of Congo Boeing 707 and 2 Canadair CL-44 planes.
01.31.01 Caravelle 10R (201) HK-3932X 3 (6)
Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas.
The Caravelle was operating on a cargo flight from Bogotá to Mitú via Yopal with 3 passengers (+ the crew of 3) onboard. The aircraft departed Yopal at 13.45h. Arriving near Mitu, the crew had problems lowering the landing gear and they decided to return to Yopal. The Caravelle circled Yopal for about 20 minutes before the crew started their approach. Some 3 miles short of the runway, the aircraft crashlanded in a meadow and caught fire. The cargo consisted of a.o.14 barrels with 55 gallons of gasoline each.
(Source: Harro Ranter)
Near Yopal (Colombia)

 

28.08.04 Caravelle 11R (251) 3D-KIK
0 (8)
Transair
Caravelle 3D-KIK was chartered by the Celtel company to transport telecommunications equipment to Goma. Approaching Goma, the pilot was not allowed to land and was forced to hold near Goma. Low on fuel, the captain decided to divert to neighbouring Gisenyi Airport’s in Rwanda. The Caravelle crashed on landing at Gisenyi Airport’s 1000 metre long runway 01/19. Uncertainty exist regarding the owner of the plane, which had been reported as Transair, Waltair and a Mr. K. Lemaire
Goma Airport (GOM) (Rwanda)

 

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