What happened
During a routine training flight near the airport in Tourane (present-day Đà Nẵng), a three-engine aircraft and another military plane were involved in a mid-air collision. The first aircraft was transporting a crew of two along with 13 paratroopers at the time of the incident. Simultaneously, a second AAC.1 Toucan, registered 384/F-RBDK, was operating in the same vicinity carrying its own crew of two and 13 paratroopers.
While both aircraft were in the cruise phase of flight near the airfield, they struck one another. The impact caused both planes to descend rapidly into a nearby field, where they crashed. The accident resulted in 30 fatalities, accounting for every person on board both aircraft.
Findings
The specific details regarding how the two aircraft occupied the same airspace at the same time have not been determined, as the precise circumstances surrounding the collision remain unknown.