Incident Overview

Date: Wednesday 3 December 1969
Aircraft Type: Boeing 707-328B
Owner/operator: Air France
Registration Number: F-BHSZ
Location: ca 6,5 km off Caracas-Simon Bolivar Airport (CCS) – ÿ Venezuela
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 62 / Occupants: 62
Component Affected: Left main gear wheel.Left main gear wheel.
Category: Accident
Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707-300, crashed into the sea after takeoff from Caracas, Venezuela, resulting in the loss of all 62 occupants. The aircraft operated a scheduled service from Santiago de Chile to Paris with en route stops at Quito, Caracas, and Pointe-…-Pitre. The flight was cleared to climb to a height of 3000 feet after takeoff, and lost altitude and crashed.Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707-300, crashed into the sea after takeoff from Caracas, Venezuela, resulting in the loss of all 62 occupants. The aircraft operated a scheduled service from Santiago de Chile to Paris with en route stops at Quito, Caracas, and Pointe-…-Pitre. The flight was cleared to climb to a height of 3000 feet after takeoff, and lost altitude and crashed.

Description

Air France Flight 212, a Boeing 707-300, impacted the sea three minutes after takeoff from Caracas, Venezuela, killing all 62 occupants The aircraft operated a scheduled service from Santiago de Chile to Paris with en route stops at Quito (Ecuador), Caracas (Venezuela) and Pointe-…-Pitre (Guadeloupe). The flight had been cleared to climb to a height of 3000 feet after takeoff when the aircraft lost altitude and crashed. The depth of the water in the area was around 160 feet. BEA documents relating to the investigation of the accident are classified in the national archives until 2029. However, in a letter dated November 27, 1970, the Police Prefecture’s Central Laboratory stated that technical analysis of the neighboring parts of the left main gear showed the presence of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine and a nitro derivative in the form of traces that could come from the decomposition of dinitrotoluene or possibly trinitrotoluene. They concluded that it was likely that a dynamite explosive device had been placed in the left main gear wheel well.

Source of Information

http://www.webeugene.net/html/photo_hsz.htm#rap01http://www.webeugene.net/html/photo_hsz.htm#rap01

Primary Cause

The presence of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine, and a nitro derivative in the left main gear wheel well, potentially originating from decomposition of dinitrotoluene or trinitrotoluene, suggests the possibility of a dynamite explosive device being placed within the gear wheel.The presence of nitrocellulose, nitroglycerine, and a nitro derivative in the left main gear wheel well, potentially originating from decomposition of dinitrotoluene or trinitrotoluene, suggests the possibility of a dynamite explosive device being placed within the gear wheel.

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