1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash
SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc · Jammed controls, design error
From Tunis Carthage International Airport (TUN) to Paris-Le Bourget International Airport (LBG)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 38 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc
- Aircraft type
- Sncase SE-161
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- F-BCUM
- Operator
- Air France
- Onboard fatalities
- 38
- Route
- From Tunis Carthage International Airport (TUN)To Paris-Le Bourget International Airport (LBG)
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems
- Organizational issues › Development
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
The 1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash occurred on 3 March 1952 when a SNCASE SE.161/P7 Languedoc aircraft of Air France crashed on take-off from Nice Airport for Le Bourget Airport, Paris, killing all 38 people on board. The cause of the accident was that the aileron controls had jammed, which in itself was contributed to by a design fault. The accident was the third-deadliest in France at the time and is the deadliest involving the SNCASE Languedoc.
Accident
Shortly after take-off from Nice Airport on a scheduled domestic passenger flight to Le Bourget Airport, Paris, the aircraft was seen to bank to the left, roll onto its back and crash about 1 km north of the airport. All four crew and 34 passengers on board were killed. The flight had originated in Tunis, Tunisia. The accident was the third deadliest in France at the time and is the deadliest involving the SNCASE Languedoc.
Thirteen of the victims were British, including shipowner John Emlyn-Jones and his wife. Amongst the other victims were the French actresses Lise Topart and Michèle Verly and the American actress and ballet dancer Harriet Toby. A Frenchwoman was initially reported to have survived the crash seriously injured, but she died later in hospital, bringing the total to 38 deaths.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
An investigation found that the cause of the accident was that the co-pilot's aileron controls had jammed due to a chain slipping off its sprocket. The difficulty of setting and inspecting the chains in the dual control columns was cited as a contributory factor in the accident.
Text from the Wikipedia article “1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash” (revision 1364984787, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash
- Revision
- 1364984787 · 2026-07-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q16825968
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "1952 Air France SNCASE Languedoc crash" (page 42072211, revision 1364984787)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site; country from Wikidata (P17)
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator is an airline according to Wikidata
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.