1975 Agadir Royal Air Maroc Boeing 707 crash

JY-AEE, the aircraft involved, seen at Frankfurt Airport, the day before the crash
Accident
Date	August 3, 1975
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
Site	Near Tamri, Morocco
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 707-321C
Operator	Jordanian World Airways on behalf of Royal Air Maroc
Registration	JY-AEE
Flight origin	Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France
Destination	Inezgane Airport, Agadir, Marocco
Occupants	188
Passengers	181
Crew	7
Fatalities	188
Survivors	0

On August 3, 1975, Royal Air Maroc chartered a Boeing 707 passenger flight from Le Bourget Airport in Paris to Inezgane Airport in Agadir which crashed into a mountain on approach to Agadir Inezgane Airport, Morocco. All 188 passengers and crew on board were killed. It is the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Boeing 707, as well as the deadliest in Morocco. ^[1]

Flight

The 707, owned by Jordanian World Airways, a subsidiary of Alia, was chartered by the national airline of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc, to fly 181 Moroccan workers and their families from France home for the holidays. ^[2] It was the early hours of morning when the aircraft approached Agadir. There was heavy fog in the area and the aircraft was flying in from the northeast over the Atlas Mountains. At around 04:25 local time, as the 707 was descending from 8,000 feet (2,400 m) for a runway 29 approach, its right wingtip and no. 4 (outer-right) engine struck a peak at 2,400 feet (730 m) altitude. Part of the wing separated. The aircraft lost control and crashed into a ravine.

Rescue teams found wreckage over a wide area. The destruction was so complete, nothing bigger than 1 square metre (10 sq ft) in size was found.

The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in not ensuring positive course guidance before beginning descent. The aircraft had not followed the usual north-south corridor generally used for flights to Agadir. ^{[3] [4]}

References