Proteus Airlines Flight 706
| Proteus Airlines Flight 706 | |
|---|---|
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| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Airplane collision in the air |
| place | Quiberon Bay |
| date | July 30, 1998 |
| Fatalities | 15th |
| Injured | 0 |
| 1. Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Beechcraft 1900D |
| operator | Proteus Airlines |
| Mark | F-GSJM |
| Departure airport | Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport , Lyon , France |
| Destination airport | Lorient Bretagne Sud Airport , Lorient , France |
| Passengers | 12 |
| crew | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| 2. Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Reims Cessna F177RG Cardinal |
| operator | Private |
| Mark | F-GAJE |
| Departure airport | Vannes airfield |
| Destination airport | Vannes airfield |
| Passengers | 0 |
| crew | 1 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The Proteus Airlines Flight 706 was a French domestic flight from Lyon to Lorient . It was carried out with a Beechcraft 1900D , which on July 30, 1998 collided with a Reims Cessna F177RG Cardinal over the Bay of Quiberon . Both planes broke in midair and crashed into the sea. A total of 15 people died, 14 on board the Beechcraft and one on board the Cessna.
Course of the accident
The Beechcraft 1900 took off at 12:21 local time from Lyon Airport in a north-west direction to Lorient. About 70 minutes after take-off, a passenger entered the cockpit and asked if they would fly over the Bay of Quiberon, as the famous ship " France " was lying there, which was already sailing under the Norwegian flag . The pilots asked the air traffic control of Lorient about a course deviation to the west, which should then bring them directly to the bay of Quiberon. Shortly afterwards, air traffic control confirmed the request.
At that time, a Cessna 177 Cardinal RG with the registration number F-GAJE took off from Vannes airfield . The only occupant of the small aircraft was a retired commercial pilot with several thousand hours of flight experience. He too wanted to see the “France” lying in the bay.
At 13:52, the air traffic controller expressly advised the Beechcraft pilots that they had to comply with the visual flight rules.
At 13:53, the Proteus crew had already sunk below 1,100 meters (3,700 ft). She contacted air traffic control again and asked to switch from instruments to visual flight. According to the research report, this is very unusual for scheduled flights at such a low altitude. This request was also approved by air traffic control. The Proteus crew continued to descend to 610 m (2000 ft.) Above sea level and then made a 360 ° turn around the ship.
At 13:56, the pilot of the Cessna contacted the Quiberon air traffic control and requested a descent from 910 m (3000 ft) to 460 meters (1500 ft).
At 13:57, the Proteus crew reported that they had finished the curve and were now heading for the destination airport again.
At 1:58 p.m., the two planes collided over Quiberon Bay and crashed into the sea. None of the occupants of the two planes survived.
Accident investigation
The aircraft accident investigation showed that the pilot of the Cessna had not switched on his transponder , which, however, was not an obligation. In good weather and in visual flight , the pilot saw no reason to switch on the transponder. The Cessna could not be located by the radar and the pilots of the Beechcraft were not informed about the small aircraft.
At the time of the accident, the co-pilot was flying on board the Beechcraft , which means that the captain had to observe the aircraft in the area, among other things. The Cessna was approaching directly from the right, so that it had the right of way under visual flight rules. Due to the visibility from the cockpit of the Beech 1900, it was difficult for the captain to see the other aircraft. Even the pilot of the Cessna could only see the other aircraft at the last moment because his view was blocked by the left door post and he was blinded by the sun.
In its report, the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses pour la sécurité de l'aviation civile recommended that scheduled flights should deviate from the regular course only in an emergency.
Representation in the media
- Fatal detour (In the blind spot) (Original title: Deadly Detour ). Mayday alarm in the cockpit [Season 16; Episode 5].
Individual evidence
- ^ The Associated Press: World News Briefs; Air Collision Off France Kills 7, and 8 Are Lost . In: The New York Times . July 31, 1998, ISSN 0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed August 27, 2017]).
- ^ The Associated Press: French Air Crash Search . In: The New York Times . August 1, 1998, ISSN 0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed August 27, 2017]).
- ^ Accident report Beechcraft 1900D F-GSJM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 27, 2017.
- ^ Official investigation report (French), p. 48, accessed on August 28, 2017.
- ^ Official investigation report (French), pp. 93 and 98, accessed on August 28, 2017.
- ↑ Air Crash Investigation | National Geographic . ( com.au [accessed August 27, 2017]).