Air France plane crashes

The following are either fatal events involving at least one passenger death or significant safety occurrences involving the airline. Excluded would be events where the only passengers killed were stowaways, hijackers, or saboteurs. The passenger fatalities in the numbered events may be due to accidents, hijackings, sabotage, or military action. The events that are not numbered may or may not include fatalities, and are included because they meet the criteria of a significant event as defined by AirSafe.com

  1. 27 June 1976; Air France A300; F-BVGG; flight AF139; Entebbe, Uganda: While on a scheduled international flight from Athens to Paris, the aircraft was hijacked by four persons, including two members of the German Baader-Meinhof Gang. The aircraft was diverted to Benghazi, Libya, and then later was flown to Entebbe. All but 94 passengers were released shortly after the hijacking and the remainder were kept at Entebbe. These hostages were eventually rescued in a commando raid by Israeli military forces. All 12 crew members survived, and three of the original 258 passengers were killed during the rescue mission, and a fourth, who was hospitalized away from the airport at the time of the rescue mission, was apparently killed after the rescue. The four hijackers and one of the commandos were also killed.

    2 December 1985; Air France 747-200; F-GCBC; flight AF091; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Paris, France to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. During the landing, the number one engine accelerated to a very high level of thrust, causing the aircraft to veer off the runway and collide with a concrete ramp. None of the 265 passengers or 17 crew members were killed.

  2. 26 June 1988; Air France A320; flight AF296Q; near Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France: The aircraft, which was on a demonstration flight that included passengers, crashed into trees during an air show maneuver when the aircraft failed to gain height during a low pass with the gear extended. All three crew members survived and three of the 130 passengers were killed.

  3. 20 January 1992; Air Inter A320; F-GGED; flight 148; near Strasbourg, France: The aircraft, which was on a scheduled domestic flight from Lyon to Strasbourg, France, had a controlled flight into terrain after the flight crew incorrectly configured the flight management system. Five of the six crew and 82 of the 90 passengers perished.

  4. 24 December 1994; Air France A300; F-GBEC; flight AF8969; Algiers Airport, Algeria: The aircraft, which was on a scheduled international flight from Algiers, Algeria and Paris, France, was hijacked at Algiers by four members of the GIA (Groupe Islamique Armee). The aircraft was flown to Marseille two days later. Hijackers killed three of the 209 passengers. Later, commandos retook the aircraft and killed four hijackers. All 12 crew members survived.

  5. 5 September 1996; Air France 747-400; near Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Severe turbulence associated with a weather front seriously injured three of the 206 passengers. One of the three passengers later died of injuries caused by an in flight entertainment screen.

  6. 20 April 1998; Air France 727-200; HC-BSU; flight AF422; near Bogota, Colombia: The aircraft was on a flight from Bogota to Quito, Ecuador. Three minues after takeoff, the plane crashed into the mountain at about 1600 feet (500m) above the airport elevation. Although it was an Air France flight, the aircraft was leased from TAME airlines of Ecuador and was flown by an Ecuadorian crew. All 43 passengers and 10 crew members were killed.

  7. 25 July 2000; Air France Concorde; F-BTSC; flight 4590; near Paris, France: The aircraft was on a charter flight from Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris to JFK airport in New York. Shortly before rotation, the front right tire of the left landing gear ran over a strip of metal which had fallen off of another aircraft. Pieces of the damaged tire were thrown against the aircraft structure. There was a subsequent fuel leak and major fire under the left wing.

    Shortly afterwards, power was lost on engine number two and for a brief period on engine number one. The aircraft was neither able to climb nor accelerate, and the crew found that the landing gear would not retract. The aircraft maintained a speed of 200 kt and an altitude of 200 feet for about one minute. The crew lost control of the aircraft and crashed into a hotel in the town of Gonesse shortly after engine number one lost power for the second time. All 100 passengers and nine crew members were killed. Four people on the ground were also killed.
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    2 August 2005; Air France A340-300; F-GLZQ; flight AF358; Toronto, Canada: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Paris to Toronto. The aircraft encountered heavy thunderstorms upon arrival in Toronto. The crew was able to land, but was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway. The aircraft departed the runway and rolled into a gully where the aircraft broke up and caught fire. All passengers and crew were able to successfully escape the burning plane. None of the 12 crew members and or 297 passengers were killed. This is not a fatal event since no passengers were killed.
    Plane crashes involving airlines from Europe
    Airbus A340 Plane Crashes
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    25 January 2007; Régional Fokker F100; F-GMPG; flight 7775; Pau, France: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Pau to Paris (CDG). The aircraft experienced several significant rolls to the left and right shortly after takeoff and the crew attempted to land the aircraft immediately. The left wingtip struck the ground just before the aircraft touched down to the right of the runway. The aircraft rolled about a half kilometer, striking a truck as it crossed a road. The landing gear separated after the aircraft hit an embankment on the far side of the road. The crew and passengers were able to evacuate successfuly after the aircraft came to a stop. landed the aircraft. was able to land, but was unable to stop the aircraft on the runway. None of the four crew members and 50 passengers were seriously injured, however, the driver of the truck that was struk by the aircraft was killed. Regional is owned by Air France.
    Plane crashes of European airlines

  8. 1 June 2009; Air France A330-200; F-GZCP; flight AF447; Atlantic Ocean: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France. The aircraft crashed in the Atlantic Ocean in an area roughly 390 miles (650 kilometers) northeast of Brazil's Fernando de Noronha islands, which are about 220 miles (354 kilometers) off the northeast coast of Brazil. Debris from the aircraft was found near the estimated position of its last radio communication. All 216 passengers and 12 crew members, together representing over 32 nationalities, are missing and presumed dead.
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Air France plane crashes
http://airsafe.com/events/airlines/afa.htm -- Revised: 27 January 2017