Air France Flight 296

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**Air France Flight 296**
Summary
Date	June 26, 1988
Type	Pilot error (disputed)
Site	Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France
Fatalities	3
Injuries	?
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Airbus A320
Operator	Air France
Tail number	F-GFKC
Passengers	130
Crew	6
Survivors	133

Air France Flight 296 was a chartered flight of a newly-delivered fly-by-wire Airbus A320 operated by Air France. On June 26, 1988, it was scheduled to fly over Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport (ICAO code LFGB) at a low speed with landing gear down at an altitude of 100 feet as part of an air show, but slowly descended to 30 feet before crashing into the tops of trees beyond the runway. Three passengers were killed. The cause of the accident is disputed, as many irregularities in the accident investigation were later revealed. This was the first ever crash involving an Airbus A320.

1 Official report
2 Disputed account
- 2.1 A320 operation anomalies
  - 2.1.1 OEB 19/1: Engine Acceleration Deficiency at Low Altitude
  - 2.1.2 OEB 06/2: Baro-Setting Cross Check
- 2.2 Investigation irregularities
3 Outcome
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Official report

The official report states^[1] the causes of the accident were 1) very low flyover height, lower than surrounding obstacles; 2) speed very slow and reducing to reach maximum possible angle of attack; 3) engine speed at flight idle; 4) late application of go-around power. This combination led to impact of the aircraft with the trees.

The Commission believed that if the descent below 100 feet was not deliberate, it may have resulted from failure to take proper account of the visual and aural information intended to give the height of the aircraft.

[edit] Disputed account

[edit] A320 operation anomalies

Third-party investigations into the crash dispute the official findings^[2].Captain Asseline asserted the altimeter read 100 feet (30 m) despite video evidence that the plane was as low as 30 feet (10 m). He also reported that the engines didn't respond to his throttle input as he attempted to increase power. The month prior to the accident, Airbus posted two Operational Engineering Bulletins indicating anomalous behavior noted in the A320 aircraft. These bulletins were received by Air France but not sent out to pilots until after the accident:

[edit] OEB 19/1: Engine Acceleration Deficiency at Low Altitude

This OEB noted that the engines may not respond to throttle input at low altitude.

[edit] OEB 06/2: Baro-Setting Cross Check

This OEB stated that the barometric altitude indication on the A320 did not always function properly.

These malfunctions could have caused both the lack of power when the throttle was increased, and the inability of the crew to recognize the sharp sink rate as the plane passed 100 feet into the trees.

[edit] Investigation irregularities

According to French Law, the Flight Data Recorder and Cockpit Voice Recorder are to be immediately retrieved by the police in the event of an aircraft accident. However, the recorders were taken by the civil aviation authorities and held for 10 days until they were finally confiscated. When the recorders were returned, they had been physically opened and the magnetic tape tampered with. 8 seconds of tape was removed, including the 4 seconds immediately prior to the crash, and the voice recorder and data recorder were 4 seconds out of sync at the time of the crash. This has led to allegations that the flight data recorder was seriously tampered with, or even replaced.

[edit] Outcome

The accident and resulting fire killed 3 of the 130 passengers. Captain Asseline and First Officer Mazière, two Air France officials and the president of the flying club sponsoring the air show were charged with manslaughter. All 5 were found guilty. Captain Asseline was sentenced to 6 months in prison, plus 12 months probation; the others were sentenced to probation.