Linee Aeree Italiane Flight 451 (1956)

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1956 Paris DC-6 crash
Douglas DC-6 LAI (I-DIMA) - nose.jpg
A DC-6B of Linee Aeree Italiane similar to the incident aircraft (on display).
Accident
Date24 November 1956
SummaryLoss of control for undetermined reasons
Site Paray-Vieille-Poste, France
Aircraft
Aircraft type Douglas DC-6B
Operator Linee Aeree Italiane
Registration I-LEAD
Flight origin Rome, Italy
Stopover Milan, Italy (skipped)
2nd stopover Paris Orly Airport, France
3rd stopover Shannon Airport, Ireland
Destination New York, United States
Passengers25 [1] [2]
Crew10
Fatalities34 [3]
Injuries4 [4]
Survivors1 [3] [2]

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. [1] [5] [6] [4] [7]

Contents

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. [5] The aircraft was new, in service since 5 November 1956, making his fourth flight. [4] [8] The plane skipped the stopover at Milan due to fog and arrived an hour too early at Paris Orly Airport. [5] The plane departed from Orly at 00:35am. [5] The weather was cold and misty with a visibility of 2.2 metres. [1] Shortly after take off the airplane was not able to elevate further. [3] [1] [6] The pilot said that he was not able to reach height and would return to the airport. [9] The airplane hit a roof of a house in commune Paray-Vieille-Poste. According to eye witnesses there was explosion and the airplane broke apart. The airplane crashed into a worker's house a few 100 metres further away. [9] [5] The airplane had also hit a electricity cable and there was an explosion. There was large fire, partly due to the 23000 liters fuel the airplane had on board. [9] The two houses were destroyed. [5] Wreckage lay up to 500 meters from the crash site. The four engines were flown all four in different directions. [8]

Rescue operation

The local fire department and the fire department of the United States Air Force went to the fires. [8] Shortly after the crash there were 200 policemen and firefighters at the crash area. [8] It took until after 9am to free bodies from the wreckage. Most of the bodies were transported to the marriage chamber of the city hall of Paray-Vieille-Poste. [4]

Victims

Initial reports reported that on the plane were 36 people on board: 26 passengers and 10 crew members. [5] 24 passengers boarded in Rome and an additional two boarded in Paris. [2] Later reports and the final refer stated there were not 26 but 25 passengers. [3] [1] [2] The passengers consisted of one Turkish passenger, twelve American passengers and the others being Italian passengers. [5] [8] Nine of the ten crew members were Italian citizens; the stewardess was a French citizen. [8] Captain Attilio Vazzoler was 41 years old and was one of the more experienced pilot of the company with more than 10 thousand hours of flight. [9]

34 of the 35 people on board were killed in the accident: the 10 crew members and 24 passengers, including a baby. [8] [5] One of the passengers who was killed was Italian orchestral conductor Guido Cantelli who was the musical director of Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He who was on his way to New York to meet Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini. He was 36 years old. [5] In the three houses that burned down there was only one person with minor injuries. [5] [4] Two fireman were injured after a wall collapsed on one of the burning houses. [4]

There were initially two survivors reported, passengers Niccodemo and Concetta Finamore, an Italian married couple, both rescued with severe burn injuries. Niccodemo later succumbed to his wounds, leaving Concetta as the sole survivor. [10] [11]

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. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Accident descriptionfor F-BGOD at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on 2 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Italiaans passagiersvliegtuig bij Parijs neergestort" [Italian passenger plane crashed near Paris]. Friese Koerier : Onafhankelijk Dagblad voor Friesland en Aangrenzende Gebieden (in Dutch). Friese Koerier  [ nl ]. 24 November 1956 – via Delpher.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "No. 34 Linee Aeree Italiane DC6-aircraft, I-LEAD crashed after take-off" (PDF). IACO. pp. 159–164 – via baaa-acro.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "32 Die In Crash Near Paris Field". Madera Tribune. 24 November 1956 – via cdnc.ucr.edu.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Italiaans passagiersvliegtuig bij Parijs neergestort" [Italian passenger plane crashed near Paris]. Eindhovensch Dagblad (in Dutch). 26 November 1956 – via Delpher.
  6. 1 2 "Twee vliegtuigongelukken eisten 57 slachtoffers" [Two plane crashes claimed 57 lives]. Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg (in Dutch). Dagblad voor Noord-Limburg  [ nl ]. 26 November 1956 – via Delpher.
  7. ↑ "34 DEAD IN CRASH OF PLANE IN PARIS ON ITS WAY HERE". The New York Times . 24 November 1956 – via cdnc.ucr.edu.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Vliegramp bij Parijs: 33 doden" [Air crash near Paris: 33 dead] (in Dutch). Het Parool. 24 November 1956 – via Delpher.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Twee ernstige vliegrampen 33 en 23 doden" [Two serious air disasters, 33 and 23 deaths]. Nieuwe Winterswijksche courant (in Dutch). 26 November 1956 – via Delpher.
  10. ↑ ""No. 34 Linee Aeree Italiane DC6-aircraft, I-LEAD crashed after take-off"" (PDF). Bureau Of Aircraft Accidents Archive.
  11. ↑ "Disperazione nelle case delle vittim" (PDF). L'unità .
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