The captain would slow the aircraft to its minimum flying speed with maximum angle of attack, disable the 'alpha floor' (the function that would otherwise automatically advance engine thrust to TO/GA when the IAS reaches αMax), and rely on the first officer to adjust the engine thrust manually to maintain 100 feet. The flight plan was that as the flight approached the airfield, the pilot would extend the third-stage flap, lower the landing gear, and line up for a level flight at 100 feet (30 m). Flyover F-GFKC taking off on its way to the Habsheim Airfield They received no verbal details about the flyover or the aerodrome itself. The pilots had each had a busy weekend and did not receive the flight plan until the morning of the flight. Finally, the aircraft would return to Paris. This would be followed by a sightseeing trip south to Mont Blanc before the passengers would be returned to Basel–Mulhouse Airport. The captain would make a low-level fly-pass over Runway 02, climb up and turn back, and repeat the fly-pass over the same runway in the reciprocal direction (Runway 20).

Then, sightseeing charter passengers would board and the aircraft would fly the short distance to the small Mulhouse–Habsheim Airfield. The aircraft was to fly from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Basel–Mulhouse Airport for a press conference. Flight plan Īt the time of the incident, only three of the new aircraft type had been delivered to Air France, and the newest one (in service for two days) had been chosen for the flyover. Mazières had 10,853 hours of flight time. įirst Officer Pierre Mazières7, and had qualified as an A320 captain three months before the accident.

Asseline had total confidence in the aircraft's computer systems. As Air France's technical pilot, he had been heavily involved in test flying the A320 type and had carried out maneuvers beyond normal operational limitations. A training captain since 1979, Asseline was appointed to head the company's A320 training subdivision at the end of 1987. He was a highly distinguished pilot with 10,463 flight hours. Flight deck crew Ĭaptain Michel Asseline, 44, had been a pilot with Air France for almost twenty years and had the following endorsements: Caravelle Boeing 707, 727, and 737 and Airbus A300 and A310. It was the third A320 delivered to Air France, the launch customer. The accident aircraft, an Airbus A320-111, registration F-GFKC, serial number 9, first flew on 6 January 1988 and was delivered to Air France on 23 June, three days prior to its destruction. This was the first fatal crash of an Airbus A320. Captain Asseline, who maintained his innocence, went on to serve ten months in prison and a further ten months probation. Five individuals, including the captain and first officer, were later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The captain, Michel Asseline, disputed the report and claimed an error in the fly-by-wire computer prevented him from applying thrust and pulling up. Official reports concluded that the pilots flew too low, too slow, failed to see the forest and accidentally flew into it. (The child had been travelling with her older brother but seated apart, he was swept out by a flow of escapees as he tried to find his sister). The low-speed flyover, with landing gear down, was supposed to take place at an altitude of 100 feet (30 m) instead, the plane performed the flyover at 30 ft (9 m), skimmed the treetops of the forest at the end of the runway (which had not been shown on the airport map given to the pilots) and crashed.Īll 136 passengers survived the initial impact, but 3 then died of smoke inhalation from the subsequent fire a quadriplegic boy in seat 4F, a 7 year old in seat 8C, trapped by her seat being pushed forward and struggling to open the seatbelt, and an adult who, according to her partner, had reached the exit with him but then turned back to try help the 7 year old. Many, including several unaccompanied children, had never previously been on an airplane. This particular flight was the A320's first passenger flight and most of those on board were journalists and raffle competition winners, having won tickets as part of a promotional event by local businesses. Most of the crash sequence, which occurred in front of several thousand spectators, was caught on video. On 26 June 1988, the plane crashed while making a low pass over Mulhouse–Habsheim Airfield ( ICAO airport code LFGB) as part of the Habsheim Air Show. Mulhouse–Habsheim Airport, Mulhouse, FranceĤ7☄4′58″N 7☂5′34″E / 47.74944°N 7.42611☎ / 47.74944 7.42611Īir France Flight 296Q was a chartered flight of a new Airbus A320-111 operated by Air France for Air Charter International. F-GFKC, the Airbus A320 involved in the accidentĬontrolled flight into terrain during flying display

Original airbus a320 cockpit