1968 Sainte-Marie Douglas DC-6 crash

Wikipedia:AI_noticeboard#User:GlobalDonald July 2026 1968 Sainte-Marie Douglas DC-6 crash Douglas DC-6B, France - Air Force AN1392899.jpg A similar Douglas DC-6 of the French Air Force Post-takeoff crash. 1968 03 09 y Controlled Flight into Terrain Sainte-Marie, Réunion, France Douglas DC-6 Groupe de Liaisons Aériennes Ministérielles F-RAFB/ 43748 Gillot Airport Djibouti Airport Paris 20 8 12 19 1 (a Flight nurse) The 1968 Sainte-Marie Douglas DC-6 crash was an aviation accident that occurred on the island of La Réunion, a French overseas department in the southwestern Indian Ocean, on the evening of 9 March 1968. A military Douglas DC-6 aircraft taking off from Gillot Airport at 23:15 crashed two minutes later in the commune of Sainte-Marie, Réunion, resulting in the deaths of nineteen people, including French General Charles Ailleret, Chief of Staff of the French Army. This aviation accident remains the deadliest in the history of La Réunion. Aircraft The 1953 Douglas DC-6B, registered as F-RAFB/43748, was operated by the Groupe de Liaisons Aériennes Ministérielles (GLAM), responsible for the transportation of French government personnel.Crash of a Douglas DC-6B in Saint-Denis: 19 killed https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-douglas-dc-6b-saint-denis-19-killed Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives 27 December 2025 Disaster July 2024The aircraft had arrived from Antananarivo in the early afternoon, and the flight back to Paris via Djibouti was scheduled for the following morning, but it was brought forward to that very evening. It departed from Gillot at 23:15 and the scheduled flight time to Djibouti was 11 hours and 40 minutes.https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.clicanoo.re%2FLa-plus-grande-catastrophe-aerienne-de-lhistoire-de-laviation-la-Reunion%2FSociete%2FArticle%2F2018%2F03-4 9 March 1968: Hell in the Heights of Sainte-Marie 4 March 2018 Clicanoo.re fr 29 September 2021 However, in bad weather, the crew did not follow standard procedure when taking off from Gillot heading east and made an incorrect turn after takeoff, turning right toward the mountain instead of veering left out over the ocean.Ranter Harro Accident Douglas DC-6B 43748, Saturday 9 March 1968 https://aviation-safety.net/asndb/331902 2026-05-17 aviation-safety.net Shortly after takeoff, the plane crashed into a hill approximately 5km southeast of the runway and caught fire. On board was the Chief of Staff of the French Army, General Charles Ailleret, along with his wife and daughter. The only survivor was General Ailleret's nurse, Michelle Renard. The accident officially remains unsolved.https://www.linfo.re/la-reunion/societe/53-ans-jour-pour-jour-l-accident-aerien-le-plus-important-de-l-histoire-de-la-reunion 29 September 2021 53 ans jour pour jour : l'Accident aérien le plus important de l'histoire de la Réunion fr However, as the departure had been brought forward, the crew had insufficient rest time and were believed to have been suffering from fatigue. In 1998, Renard testified about the accident.https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.clicanoo.re%2FSociete%2FArticle%2F1998%2F03%2F13%2FLunique-survivante-raconte_89347#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url The Sole Survivor Tells Her Story 14 March 1998 Clicanoo.re fr 29 September 2021 A commemoration took place in March 2018. 710 April 2018 Commémoration du crash du DC6 https://www.calameo.com/read/000014334bc697cf03ccb Commemoration of the DC6 Crash Air Actualités - Le magazine de l'armée de l'air fr Paris (France) Service d'Information et de Relations Publiques de l'Armée de l'Air 8 21 May 2026 Notes and references See also Sainte-Marie, Réunion Charles Ailleret List of aviation accidents and incidents with a sole survivor Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Douglas DC-6 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1968 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in France Category:Disasters in Réunion Category:Aviation in Réunion Category:1968 in France Category:1968 in Africa Category:March 1968 in Africa