1974 Saint-Denis de la Réunion Aircraft Accident (F-RAFB/43748)

Flight Details and Accident Sequence The four-engine aircraft, bearing the dual registration F-RAFB and 43748, was operating a flight from Saint-Denis de la Réunion to Paris with an intermediate stop at Djibouti City on behalf of the Groupe de Liaisons Aériennes Ministérielles (GLAM). The aircraft arrived at Saint-Denis Airport in the morning and was scheduled to remain overnight. Although the crew was initially released for the day, they were subsequently called for an evening departure. Fifty-five seconds after takeoff from runway 13 in light rain, the pilot received a transmission from the airport controller indicating the aircraft was turning in the wrong direction. The controller instructed the pilot to make an immediate left turn while gaining altitude. The pilot acknowledged the message, but the left wing struck two araucaria trees, causing the aircraft to crash in flames in a wooded area approximately 5 kilometers southeast of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire. ## Casualties and Occupants Only one passenger survived the accident: Mrs. Michèle Renard, the personal nurse of General Charles Ailleret. Nineteen other occupants were killed, including General Ailleret, who was the Chief of Staff of the French Army and was returning to Paris following an inspection of French troops stationed in the Indian Ocean. The crew consisted of Captain Pradier, Captain Gaëtan, Sub-Lieutenant Roulot, Lieutenant Pezet, Lieutenant Dombey, Sub-Lieutenant Brando, Adjutant Ferdonnet, Adjutant Bouzereau, Sergeant Guiho, Adjutant Berrier, Sergeant Burigo, and Sergeant Rouzeau. The passengers included General Ailleret, his spouse Mrs. Liliane Ailleret, his daughter Mrs. Annick Ailleret, General Henri Carles, Colonel Fehner, Captain Philipon, Captain Commerçon, and Mrs. Michèle Renard.