1973 Nantes mid-air collision

Iberia Flight 504
Spantax Flight 400
Accident summary
Date 5 March 1973
Summary Mid-air collision caused by ATC error
Site Nantes, France
Total fatalities 68
Total survivors 107
First aircraft

An Iberia DC-9-32, sister aircraft to the one involved
Type McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32[1]
Operator Iberia
Registration EC-BII
Flight origin Palma de Mallorca Airport
Destination London Heathrow Airport
London, United Kingdom
Passengers 61
Crew 7
Survivors 0
Second aircraft

A Spantax CV-990 similar to the one involved in the accident
Type Convair CV-990[2]
Operator Spantax
Registration EC-BJC
Flight origin Madrid-Barajas Airport
Destination London Heathrow Airport
London, United Kingdom
Passengers 99
Crew 8
Survivors 107 (all)

The 1973 Nantes mid-air collision was a collision between aircraft of two Spanish airlines above Nantes, France on 5 March 1973. The aircraft involved were a McDonnell Douglas DC-9 of Iberia, operating as Flight 504 from Palma de Mallorca to London; and a Convair CV-990 of Spantax operating from Madrid to London as Flight 400. All 68 people on board the DC-9 were killed. The CV-990 was able to make a successful emergency landing at Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base.[3]

Aircraft

The Iberia flight was a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 carrying 61 passengers and 7 crew from Palma de Mallorca Airport to London Heathrow Airport, the plane had two Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 jet engines. Its registration was EC-BII, E/n msn: 47077/148, and its first flight was on 1967.

The Spantax flight was a Convair CV-990-30A-5 Coronado carrying 8 crew and 99 passengers. The jet departed in Madrid and was to land at London. It had 4 General Electric CJ805-23s, its registration was EC-BJC, C/n / msn: 30-10-22 and its first flight in 1962. It was on a non scheduled passenger flight.

Crash

Iberia Flight 504, a DC-9, departed Palma de Mallorca at 11:24 on a flight to London. At 12:19 the crew called Marina Control and reported at FL310, estimating they would be at Nantes VOR at 12:52. At 12:36 the crew were told to contact Menhir Control and descend to FL290. At the same time a Spantax Convair CV-990, flight BX400 heading for London, was flying towards the Nantes VOR on the same altitude, but on a different airway. Because of this, the crew of the Convair were instructed to arrive at the VOR at 13:00. Because the Convair was already quite close to the VOR the crew asked for confirmation of these instructions. At 12:40 the controller told them to 'Stand by' and replied two minutes later. Because the aircraft was at the ATC sector boundary the crew could barely hear the Marina controller who instructed them to contact Menhir control. The pilot erroneously thought he had to contact Menhir control when passing the Nantes VOR. In order to delay their arrival at the VOR the Spantax crew twice tried to request permission to carry out a 360-degree turn. When they did not get any answer from Marina, they initiated the turn without clearance. While in an overcast, the Convair collided with the DC-9. The CV-990 lost an outboard portion of its left wing and managed to carry out an emergency landing at Cognac-Châteaubernard Air Base (CNG). The DC-9 lost control and crashed, killing all 61 passengers and 7 crew. Jimi Hendrix's manager Michael Jeffery was amongst the fatalities of the crash. The air traffic control system had been taken over that day by military personnel because of a strike of the civilian controllers.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ "EC-BII Iberia McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 - cn 47077 / ln 148 - Planespotters.net Just Aviation". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  2. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident Convair CV-990-30A-5 Coronado EC-BJC La Plance, near Nantes". Aviation-safety.net. 1973-03-05. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  3. ↑ "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 EC-BII La Plance, near Nantes". Aviation-safety.net. 1973-03-05. Retrieved 2014-08-18.

External links

Coordinates: 47°00′58″N 1°26′03″W / 47.0161°N 1.4343°W / 47.0161; -1.4343

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