The crash of Tramoyes involving the Air Inter Flight 2611 occurred on 12 August 1963, when a Vickers Viscount 708 (registered F-BGNV) operated by Air Inter, which was on a scheduled service from Lille to Lyon to Nice, crashed in the early afternoon in Tramoyes in the southwest of the Ain department, during its approach to Lyon-Bron Airport, located about fifteen kilometers away.[1] While being held for landing, it encountered a severe thunderstorm. A wing of the aircraft struck two trees, then the roof of a farmhouse, and finally the aircraft collided with a reinforced concrete electric pole and crashed into a field.[1] Twelve people were killed instantly, and four were seriously injured, but only one survived, a five-year-old girl.[1] In total, the accident caused sixteen fatalities: eleven of the twelve passengers, all four crew members, and one person on the ground.[1] The probable cause of the accident was the blinding of the crew caused by a severe lightning flash, causing them to lose control of the aircraft.[1]
 Memorial plaque installed on April 28, 2014 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 12 August 1963 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Vickers Viscount 708 |
| Operator | Air Inter |
| Flight origin | Lille-Lesquin Airport |
| Destination | Lyon-Bron Airport |
| Occupants | 16 |
| Passengers | 12 |
| Crew | 4 |
| Fatalities | 16 |
| Injuries | 4 |
| Survivors | 1 |
Aircraft
editThe aircraft was a Vickers Viscount 708 built by the British company Vickers-Armstrong in 1954 for Air France and acquired by Air Inter on March 16, 1962.[2] It was equipped with four turboprop engines of the Dart 506 type.[2] The aircraft had accumulated 12 732 flight hours.[2]
Crew
edit- Captain: Georges Valencia, born on September 1, 1925, had 7 400 flight hours. He was responsible for navigation and engine control on this flight.[2]
- First Officer: Guy Cleret-Langavant, born on July 21, 1930, had 5 795 flight hours. He was the pilot on this flight.[2]
- Chief Flight Attendant: Christiane Souleil, born on May 22, 1939. She was seriously injured in the accident and requested Francis Girard, the first person to arrive at the crash site, to inform Bron Airport. She died at the Édouard Herriot Hospital in Lyon.[2]
- Flight Attendant: Liliane Perois, born on October 31, 1942.[2]
Other Air Inter and Vickers Viscount accidents
editThe crash of Tramoyes was the first of three aircraft crashes experienced by Air Inter during its existence (1958–1997), all three occurring in circumstances quite similar to those of the crash of Noirétable on October 27, 1972 (a Vickers Viscount coming from Lyon-Bron and approaching Clermont-Ferrand crashed in the Forez at night and in a storm) and the Mount Sainte-Odile disaster on January 20, 1992 (an Airbus A320 from Lyon-Satolas and approaching Strasbourg crashed in cloudy weather at night, near Mont Sainte-Odile).
The British medium-haul Vickers Viscount, launched in 1948, experienced a very large number of accidents during its career. Of the 445 aircraft put into service, there were 150 accidents or serious incidents, 144 of which resulted in the loss of the aircraft (List of accidents and incidents involving the Vickers Viscount).
Notes and references
editExternal links
edit- Rapport d'enquête sur l'accident on the BEA website