1973 Nantes mid-air collision
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 March 1973 |
| Summary | Mid-air collision caused by ATC error |
| Site | Nantes, France |
| Total fatalities | 68 |
| Total survivors | 107 |
| First aircraft | |
.jpg) An Iberia DC-9-32, sister aircraft to the one involved |
|
| Type | |
| Operator | Iberia |
| Registration | EC-BII |
| Flight origin | Palma de Mallorca Airport |
| Destination |
London Heathrow Airport London, United Kingdom |
| Passengers | 61 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 68 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Second aircraft | |
 A Spantax CV-990 similar to the one involved in the accident |
|
| Type | Convair 990 Coronado |
| Operator | Spantax |
| Registration | EC-BJC |
| Flight origin | Madrid-Barajas Airport |
| Destination |
London Heathrow Airport London, United Kingdom |
| Passengers | 99 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 107 (all) |
The 1973 Nantes mid-air collision occurred when two airliners hit each other over Nantes, France on 5 March 1973. They were an Iberia McDonnell Douglas DC-9 flying from Palma de Mallorca to London and a Spantax Convair 990 from Madrid to London. All 68 people on board the DC-9 were killed. The CV-990 was able to make a successful emergency landing at Cognac – Châteaubernard Air Base.
Iberia flight 504, a scheduled service from Palma de Mallorca and Spantax flight BX400, a charter flight from Madrid, were both traversing France en route to Heathrow airport in London, guided by French military Air Traffic Control as the country's civilian air traffic controllers were on strike. The Iberia DC9 was due to reach the Nantes VOR point at 12:52 at flight level 290 (29,000 feet) and the Spantax Convair CV-990 was scheduled to reach it at 13:00 at the same level. Both aircraft had received instructions from Marina sector Air Traffic Control at the French Air Force base in Mont-de-Marsan, who asked them to contact Menhir sector ATC at the French Air Force base in Brest. The Spantax aircraft was on the boundary between the sectors and had difficulty hearing Marina ATC, also receiving no reply to two requests to circle to avoid arriving at the Nantes VOR before 13:00 GMT. The crew decided to start the manoeuvre without ATC authorisation and while in cloud collided with the Iberia DC-9 at 12:52 GMT. The DC-9 lost control and crashed into the ground. The CV-990 managed to land at Cognac – Châteaubernard Air Base with damage to its left wing.
All 61 passengers and 7 crew of the Iberia flight were killed including Michael Jeffery, the former manager of Jimi Hendrix. No-one aboard the Spantax flight was harmed.
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