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VT-CQP, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 1949
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Accident | |
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Date | 3 November 1950 (1950-11-03) |
Summary | Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) in poor weather |
Site | Mont Blanc |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Lockheed L-749A Constellation |
Aircraft name | Malabar Princess |
Operator | Air India |
Registration | VT-CQP |
Flight origin | Sahar International Airport, Bombay, India |
1st stopover | Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt |
2nd stopover | Cointrin Airport, Geneva, Switzerland |
Destination | London Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom |
Passengers | 40 |
Crew | 8 |
Fatalities | 48 |
Survivors | 0 |
Air India Flight 245 was a scheduled Air India passenger flight from Bombay to London via Cairo and Geneva. On the morning of 3 November 1950, the Lockheed L-749A Constellation serving the flight crashed into Mont Blanc, France, while approaching Geneva. All 48 aboard were killed.
The plane operating the flight was named Malabar Princess, registered VT-CQP. It was pilotedbyCaptain Alan R. Saint, 34, and co-pilot V. Y. Korgaokar and was carrying 40 passengers and 8 crew. While over France, descending towards Geneva Airport, the flight crashed into the French Alps in stormy weather, killing all on board.[1][2][3]
The airplane hit the face of the Rocher de la Tournette at a height of 4,677 m (15,344 ft), on the French side of Mont Blanc.[2] Stormy weather prevented immediate rescue efforts; debris was located by a Swiss plane on 5 November, and rescue parties reached the site two days later.[2] There were no survivors. The last transmission from the aircraft, received by controllersatGrenoble and Geneva, was "I am vertical with Voiron, at 4700 meters altitude." at 10:43 a.m.
Some mail on board the flight was recovered after the crash and was annotated with『Retardé par suite d'accident aerien』("delayed due to aviation accident"); further items of mail were found in 1951 and 1952. On 8 June 1978, a patrol of the French mountain police found letters and a sack at the foot of the Bossons Glacier. Recovered were 57 envelopes and 55 letters (without envelopes) and all but eight letters were forwarded to their original addressees.[4]
Sixteen years after the crash, Air India Flight 101 crashed in almost exactly the same spot under similar circumstances.[5] In September 2013, a climber discovered a cache of jewelry that is believed to have been aboard one of these two flights.[6]
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Aviation accidents and incidents in 1950 (1950)
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Jan 7 Jan 24 Philippine Air Lines DC-3 disappearance Jan 26 Feb 13 Mar 7 Mar 12 May 29 Jun 12 Jun 24 Jun 26 Australian National Airways Douglas DC-4 crash Aug 5 Fairfield-Suisun Boeing B-29 crash Aug 31 Sep 14 Oct 31 Nov 3 Nov 13 Dec 30 | |
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45°49′59″N 6°51′35″E / 45.83306°N 6.85972°E / 45.83306; 6.85972