Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 (1956)
Douglas DC-6B · Loss of control for undetermined reasons
From Rome, Italy to New York, United States
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
- 34 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- 1
- 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
- 1
- 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
Douglas DC-6B
- Aircraft type
- Douglas DC-6
- 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
- I-LEAD
- Operator
- Linee Aeree Italiane
- Onboard fatalities
- 34
- Route
- From Rome, ItalyTo New York, United States
Cause areas
- Not determined › Not determined
- Environmental issues › Physical environment
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Estimated position: Paray-Vieille-Poste, the place the Wikipedia article names. Not the accident site.
From the Wikipedia article
On 24 November 1956 the Linee Aeree Italiane Douglas DC-6B "I-LEAD" was an international scheduled passenger flight from Rome via Paris and Shannon to New York. Shortly after take off from Paris Orly Airport the airplane lost altitude and crashed into houses in the commune Paray-Vieille-Poste. 34 of the 35 people on board were killed, including Italian orchestral conductor Guido Cantelli.
On the same day another notable international scheduled passenger flight crashed, the 1956 Eglisau Ilyushin Il-12 plane crash.
The crash happened two years after 1954 Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451; the same flight from Rome to New York with the same flight number and similar Douglas DC-6B that crashed killing 26 people.
Flight and crash
On 24 November 1956 the Linee Aeree Italiane Douglas DC-6B with tail number “I-LEAD” an international scheduled passenger flight from Rome via Milan, Paris and Shannon to New York. The aircraft was new, in service since 5 November 1956, making its fourth flight.
The plane skipped the stopover at Milan due to fog and arrived an hour too early at Paris Orly Airport. The plane departed from Orly at 00:35am. The weather was cold and misty with visibility of 2.2 kilometres. Shortly after take off the airplane was not able to elevate further. The pilot said that he was not able to reach height and would return to the airport. The airplane hit the roof of a house in commune Paray-Vieille-Poste.
According to eye witnesses there was an explosion and the airplane broke apart. The airplane crashed into a worker's house a few 100 metres further away. The airplane had also hit an electricity cable and there was an explosion. There was a large fire, partly due to the 23000 liters of fuel the airplane had on board. The two houses were destroyed. Wreckage lay up to 500 meters from the crash site. The four engines were flung in four different directions.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
After investigation, according to the final report, the initial and direct cause of the crash are unclear. The loss of altitude after take off is mentioned to be the main cause of the crash. It’s unknown why the aircraft lost altitude however. The regulations in force were observed, however unmarked obstructions in the take off path constituted an aggravating factor. No malfunctioning of the aircraft was found. The crew was qualified and had had sufficient rest. There was a film of frost on the upper surface of the extremity of each wing, as reported by an Orly employee. It is stated that it is improbable this affected the flight.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 (1956)” (revision 1364984959, 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: Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 (1956)
- Revision
- 1364984959 · 2026-07-19 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q97290909
- 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 "Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 (1956)" (page 74266957, revision 1364984959)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- place the Wikipedia infobox site links (Wikidata 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
- flight number in the article title
- 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.