• Source: Uni-Air International Flight 602

Uni-Air International Flight 602 was a regularly scheduled commercial flight operated by a Fairchild FH-227 of the French airline Uni-Air International, which crashed during the approach to Valence-Chabeuil Airport in the Drôme on April 10, 1989, leaving no survivors among the 22 occupants of the aircraft.




Circumstances


Uni-Air International Flight 602 (EY 602 GA) was a Fairchild FH-227B flight of the airline Uni-Air International, chartered by Europe Aero Service, originating from Paris-Orly (France) and destined for Valence Airport (France). On April 10, 1989, at 21:08, with three crew members and 19 passengers on board.

The aircraft struck the terrain during the approach procedure near the Col de Tourniol, in the commune of Léoncel (Drôme). There were no survivors among the 22 people on board.
The wreckage was discovered by rescue services around 1:15 am. Nearly 300 men were mobilized and about fifty vehicles were needed for the operation. At the time, the Prefecture of the Drôme had activated the SATER plan.
The day after the crash, the French Minister of Transport Michel Delebarre visited Valence.
Just after the discovery of the fuselage of the aircraft, long lines of hearses formed in front of the Abbey of Léoncel. A ceremony was held before the bodies were repatriated to their families.
The investigation report by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) concluded that the accident was due to a navigation error by the aircraft's crew.
The investigations exonerated the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Drôme, then manager of Chabeuil airport, the navigation beacons, the air traffic control services, as well as the condition of the Uni-Air International Fokker 27.
This air disaster, the deadliest in the Drôme, led to the closure of the Paris-Valence line.




Crew and aircraft


Captain: 49 years old with 8,972 flight hours, of which 577 were on FH-227.
First Officer: 59 years old with 15,639 flight hours.
Cabin Crew: 48 years old
Passengers: 19 people
Aircraft: Fairchild FH-227B No. 532 built in 1967, registered F-GGDM with 27,249 flight hours
Engine: 2 Rolls Royce DART 532–7 with 41,879 operating hours for the left engine and 7,744 operating hours for the right engine.
Last inspection: 18 June 1989 by the TAT group.
The aircraft was delivered to Uni-Air International in June 1988 (June 1988).




Probable cause


According to BEA report No. f-dm890410, the fatal accident was directly caused by a navigation error, notably due to:

The display and use of the VHF Omnidirectional Range License of Aircraft Station of Lyon-Satolas instead of Vienne.
A lack of mental representation of the aircraft's trajectory with insufficient crew rigor in task distribution and execution.
Additionally, the crew's documentation used for navigation and the organization of the aircraft's dashboard could be sources of error with the airspace organization in the Valence region not allowing optimal use of existing radars. The crew's tasks were not defined by the operator, and the first officer had a moderate but significant blood alcohol level.




Tribute to the victims


A stele was erected at the crash site at the Col de Tourniol on the border with the commune of Barbières, by the D101 road.
It lists 20 names of the 22 deceased people as some families decided not to include the names of their loved ones.




Notes and references

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