1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash

{{Infobox aircraft occurrence

| name = 1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash

| image = Sobelair Caravelle Manteufel.jpg

| alt =

| caption = OO-SRD, the aircraft involved in the accident

| occurrence_type = Accident

| date = {{start date|1973|12|22}}

| summary = Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error and navigation error

| site = Mount Mellaline, near Tanger-Boukhalef Airport, Tangier, Morocco

| coordinates =

| aircraft_type = Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 VI-N

| aircraft_name =

| operator = Sobelair for Royal Air Maroc

| tail_number = OO-SRD

| origin = Paris–Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France

| stopover = Tanger-Boukhalef Airport, Tangier, Morocco

| stopover0 =

| last_stopover =

| destination = Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco

| occupants = 106

| passengers = 99

| crew = 7

| fatalities = 106

| injuries =

| missing =

| survivors = 0

}}

The 1973 Royal Air Maroc Sud Aviation Caravelle crash occurred on December 22, 1973, when a Sobelair Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 (operating for Royal Air Maroc) crashed near Tangier, Morocco. All 106 people on board were killed.

Aircraft

The aircraft was a 12-year-old Sud Aviation Caravelle SE-210 VI-N. Its maiden flight was on February 23, 1961. It was delivered to Sabena on March 1, 1961, and registered as OO-SRD. In April 1971, the aircraft was leased to Sobelair. In December 1973, OO-SRD was subleased to Royal Air Maroc.{{cite web |title=OO-SRD |url=http://www.skystef.be/regi/OO-SRD.htm |website=SkyStef's Aviation Page |access-date=10 April 2024}}{{Cite web|title=Sobleair OO-SRD – 12. December 1973|url=http://sudaviation.com/?page_id=275|url-status=live|access-date=2014-06-14|website=SudAviation.com|publisher=SudAviation.com » Everything related to the SE210 Caravelle|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005023736/http://sudaviation.com/?page_id=275 |archive-date=2013-10-05 }}{{Cite web|title=Crash of a Sud-Est Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VI-N near Tetouan: 106 killed|url=https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-sud-est-aviation-se-210-caravelle-vi-n-near-tetouan-106-killed|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-17|website=www.baaa-acro.com|publisher=Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614060700/https://baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-sud-est-aviation-se-210-caravelle-vi-n-near-tetouan-106-killed |archive-date=2021-06-14 }}

Accident

The aircraft was leased to Royal Air Maroc to operate a passenger flight from Paris, France, to Casablanca, Morocco, with a stopover in Tangier. Most of the 98 passengers were Moroccan students and workers, as well as French tourists traveling to Morocco for Christmas. Nearly all of the eight crew members were Belgian, except for one Moroccan flight attendant.{{Cite news|date=1973-12-24|title=A Jetliner Crashes In Moroccan Hills, Killing 106 Aboard (Published 1973)|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/24/archives/a-jetliner-crashes-in-moroccan-hills-killing-106-aboard-a.html|access-date=2021-03-17|issn=0362-4331}} The aircraft approached runway 28 at Tangier-Boukhalef Airport at night in rainy weather. During the approach, the aircraft made a delayed turn and entered a mountainous area. The crew was assigned a safe holding altitude of {{Convert|3000|ft|m}}. The flight was then cleared to land and the aircraft resumed its descent. At 10:10 pm (or 10:07 pm according to some sources, ) local time, the aircraft crashed into Mount Mellaline, located 20 miles east of Tangier-Boukhalef Airport at an altitude of {{Convert|2300-2400|ft|m}}, killing all 106 people on board. It was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Morocco until the Agadir air disaster in 1975.{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-321C JY-AEE Amskroud|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19750803-1|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-17|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317010012/http://aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19750803-1 |archive-date=2005-03-17 }}{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=Morocco air safety profile|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/country/country.php?id=CN|url-status=live|access-date=2021-03-17|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051111064502/http://www.aviation-safety.net:80/database/country/country.php?id=CN |archive-date=2005-11-11 }} It remains the deadliest aviation disaster involving a Belgian airline and is the second deadliest accident involving a Sud Aviation Caravelle, behind Sterling Airways Flight 296.{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle VIN OO-SRD Tangier-Boukhalef Airport (TNG)|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19731222-1|url-status=live|access-date=2014-06-14|website=aviation-safety.net|publisher=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050421080130/http://www.aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19731222-1 |archive-date=2005-04-21 }}{{Cite news|date=1973-12-24|title=Jetliner Slams Into Mountain; 106 Killed|pages=10|work=The Dispatch|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19731224&id=9nocAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1VEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5286,5784819|access-date=2014-06-14|via=Google News}}