1975 Agadir Royal Air Maroc Boeing 707 crash

1975 aviation accident in Agadir, Morocco 1975 Agadir Royal Air Maroc Boeing 707 crash 1975 08 03 Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error Jordanian World Airways Boeing 707-300 JY-AEE.jpg JY-AEE, the aircraft involved, seen at Frankfurt Airport, the day before the crash Accident Near Tamri, Morocco dms title,inline Boeing 707-321C Alia Royal Jordanian on behalf of Royal Air Maroc JY-AEE Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France Inezgane Airport, Agadir, Morocco 188 181 7 188 0 On 3 August 1975, a chartered Royal Air Maroc international passenger flight from Paris to Agadir crashed into a mountain while descending to land at Inezgane Airport. All 188 passengers and crew members died. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707 passenger airliner operated by Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines on behalf of Royal Air Maroc. The accident is the deadliest in Moroccan history and the deadliest involving a Boeing 707, surpassing the Kano air disaster two years before, also involving a chartered Alia Royal Jordanian aircraft. Background Aircraft The aircraft involved was an 11-year-old Boeing 707-321C registered as JY-AEE. It was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3B turbofan engines. The manufacturing number was 18767/376. Flight Nationality Crew Passengers Total Morocco/France0181181 Morocco707 Total7181188 All 181 passengers on board were Moroccan-French nationals. The 707, owned by Alia Royal Jordanian was chartered by the national airline of Morocco, Royal Air Maroc, to fly Moroccan-French workers and their families from France home for the holidays. The flight left Le Bourget Airport in Paris shortly after midnight with 181 passengers and 7 crew members and was scheduled to arrive at its destination about 4:30 a.m. The aircraft approached Agadir in the early hours of the morning at the time of the crash. There was heavy fog in the area and the aircraft was flying from the northeast over the Atlas Mountains. At around 04:25 local time, as the 707 was descending from 8,000 feet for a runway 29 approach, its right wingtip and no. 4 (outer-right) engine struck a peak about 45 mi km flip northeast of Agadir at 2400 ft m -2 flip altitude. Part of the wing separated. The aircraft lost control and crashed into a valley about 1800 ft m below. Local residents of Imzizen, 50 km northwest of Agadir, had to walk for 12 mi flip to reach a telephone to notify authorities about the crash. Rescue teams arrived by helicopter and found wreckage over a wide area after searching for hours in the thick fog. The extent of the destruction was such that nothing bigger than 10 sqft m2 0 flip in size was found. At the time, this was the third-deadliest crash in civil aviation history, behind those of Turkish Airlines Flight 981 and Martinair Flight 138 the previous year. Cause The cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error in not ensuring positive course guidance before beginning descent. The aircraft had not followed the usual north-south corridor generally used for flights to Agadir. References http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=08031975&reg=JY-AEE&airline=Alia+Royal+Jordanian+Airlines https://web.archive.org/web/20140228064245/http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=08031975&reg=JY-AEE&airline=Alia+Royal+Jordanian+Airlines 28 February 2014 usurped Accident Synopsis 08031975 Airdisaster.com Ranter Harro Accident Boeing 707-321C JY-AEE, Sunday 3 August 1975 https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/329571 3 May 2025 asn.flightsafety.org https://www.newspapers.com/image/685670318 14 April 2025 Newspapers.com Morocco Crash Is 3rd Worst In Air History The Lexington Herald Lexington, Kentucky 4 August 1975 1 Associated Press and United Press International https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/04/archives/188-on-charter-jet-killed-in-moroccan-crash-in-fog-188-die-as-plane.html 188 on Charter Jet Killed In Moroccan Crash in Fog August 4, 1975 October 4, 2020 The New York Times October 24, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20231024114417/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/08/04/archives/188-on-charter-jet-killed-in-moroccan-crash-in-fog-188-die-as-plane.html live http://doc.rero.ch/record/66318/files/1975-08-04.pdf Un Boeing jordanien s'écrase près d'Agadir. CATASTROPHE AÉRIENNE AU MAROC: 188 MORTS French A Jordanian Boeing crashes near Agadir. AERIAL DISASTER IN MOROCCO: 188 DEATHS August 9, 2019 2016-03-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190958/http://doc.rero.ch/record/66318/files/1975-08-04.pdf live Morocco Jordan Aviation Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1975 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707 Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Morocco Category:Royal Air Maroc accidents and incidents Category:Royal Jordanian accidents and incidents Category:1975 in Morocco Category:August 1975 in Africa Category:1970s disasters in Morocco Category:1975 disasters in Africa Category:History of Agadir