View source for Air Inter Flight 148

{{Short description|1992 plane crash in the Vosges Mountains, France}}
{{Expand French|topic=transp|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Accident
| image           = Air Inter Flight 148 wreckage.jpg
| alt             = 
| caption         = The wreckage of Flight 148
| date            = {{start date|1992|1|20|df=y}}
| type            = [[Controlled flight into terrain]] due to ATC error and [[pilot error]]; poor training and safety standards
| site            = [[Mont Sainte-Odile]], west of [[Bas-Rhin|Barr]], 10.5nm S/W of [[Strasbourg International Airport|Strasbourg Airport]], [[Strasbourg]], France<ref name="BEA"/>
| coordinates     = {{Coord|48|25|31|N|007|24|18|E|region:FR-67_type:event_scale:20000|display=title,inline}}
| plane1_image    = Air Inter Airbus A320-111 Gilliand-1.jpg
| plane1_caption  = F-GGED, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in January 1991
| aircraft_type   = [[Airbus A320-211|Airbus A320-111]]
| operator        = [[Air Inter]]
| tail_number     = {{Airreg|F|GGED}}
| IATA            = IT5148
| ICAO            = ITF148DA
| callsign        = AIR INTER 148 DELTA ALPHA<ref name="BEA"/>
| origin          = [[Lyon Satolas Airport]], [[Lyon]], France
| destination     = [[Strasbourg Airport]], [[Strasbourg]], France
| occupants       = 96
| passengers      = 90
| crew            = 6
| injuries        = 9
| fatalities      = 87
| survivors       = 9
}}
'''Air Inter Flight 148'''{{Efn|ICAO call sign ITF 148 DA, IATA Air Inter Flight 5148 — This incident is widely known as Mt St Odile crash}} was a scheduled passenger flight from [[Lyon Satolas Airport|Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport]] (formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport) to [[Strasbourg Airport]] in [[France]]. On 20 January 1992, the [[Airbus A320 family|Airbus A320]] operating the flight [[Controlled flight into terrain|crashed]] into the slopes of the [[Vosges Mountains]] in Eastern France, near [[Mont Sainte-Odile]], while on a non-precision approach at Strasbourg Airport. A total of 87 of the 96 people on board were killed, while the remaining 9 were all injured.<ref name="BEA">{{cite web |title=Rapport de la commission d'enquête sur l'accident survenu le 20 janvier 1992 près du Mont Sainte-Odile (Bas Rhin) à l'Airbus A 320 immatriculé F-GGED exploité par la compagnie Air Inter |trans-title=Report of the commission of inquiry into the accident on 20 January 1992 near Mont Sainte-Odile (Bas Rhin) to the Airbus A 320 registered F-GGED operated by Air Inter |url=http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1992/f-ed920120/htm/f-ed920120.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613020220/http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1992/f-ed920120/htm/f-ed920120.html |archive-date=13 June 2012 |access-date=14 April 2010 |publisher=[[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A320-111 F-GGED Strasbourg-Entzheim Airport (SXB) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19920120-0 |url-status=live |access-date=2019-11-01 |website=aviation-safety.net |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050318021358/http://aviation-safety.net:80/database/record.php?id=19920120-0 |archive-date=18 March 2005 }}</ref>

==Accident==
Flight 148 was commanded by 42-year-old [[Pilot in command|Captain]] Christian Hecquet, with 8,800 flight hours including 162 flight hours on A320, and 37-year-old [[First officer (aviation)|First Officer]] Joël Cherubin, with 3,600 flight hours including 61 hours on A320.<ref name="Le Monde">{{cite news |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=943318 |title=Quatorze ans après, les causes de la catastrophe du mont Sainte-Odile restent incertaines |date=2 May 2006 |newspaper=[[Le Monde]] |access-date=14 April 2010 |language=fr |trans-title=Fourteen years later, the causes of the Mont Sainte-Odile disaster remain uncertain}}</ref> The aircraft left Lyon-Satolas (now called [[Lyon-Saint-Exupéry Airport]]) at 17:20 UTC. Both pilots were relatively new to the [[A320]], with a combined total of only 300 hours in the aircraft,<ref name="BEA" /> but they were familiar with Strasbourg Airport as both had flown into the airport many times.

As the flight neared Strasbourg Airport, they informed [[Air traffic control|ATC]] of their desire to follow the [[Instrument Landing System|ILS]] approach for Runway 23 until the airport was in sight, followed by a visual approach onto Runway 05. This type of approach onto Runway 05 was common at Strasbourg Airport;<ref name="BEA" /> Runway 05 was not equipped with ILS since the nearby mountains and high terrain would interfere with the [[Glide path|glide slope]] signal transmitted by the ILS. ATC denied the pilots approach request, saying there would be a significant delay because of conflict with several aircraft departing on Runway 05 and instead offered vectors for the [[VHF omnidirectional range|VOR]]/[[Distance measuring equipment (aviation)|DME]] approach for Runway 05, which the pilots accepted. The flight was cleared to descend to 5,000&nbsp;ft and vectored to the ANDLO waypoint 11 [[nautical mile]]s from the Strasbourg Airport [[VHF omnidirectional range|VOR]]. ATC cleared the aircraft onto the final approach at 18:19 UTC as it passed ANDLO, where the pilots turned left onto the runway heading of 050 degrees and continued to descend as per the approach chart.

At 18:20:33 UTC, Flight 148 crashed into the slopes of [[Mont Sainte-Odile]] at 2,620&nbsp;ft, 10.5 nautical miles from the airport. The search and rescue operation commenced at 18:40. Three helicopters, 24 motorcycles, and 950 people from the [[National Police (France)|Police Nationale]], [[National Gendarmerie]], [[Sécurité Civile]], as well as 24 [[amateur radio]] operators, participated in the search and rescue operation.<ref name="BEA"/> Although almost 1,000 people were involved in the search effort, it was criticised for being unprepared and disorganised, as it was not clear which of the three agencies would lead the search for the crash site, hampering the search and rescue effort. The crash site was not discovered until 22:35 UTC (4 hours and 15 minutes later) when a group of journalists were led to the wreckage by a surviving passenger, Nicolas Skourias. The first rescuers, a group of [[National Gendarmerie|gendarmes]], arrived at 22:49 after being led to the wreckage by the same survivor and a journalist.

== Cause ==
The [[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] (BEA) found that Flight 148 crashed because the pilots left the [[autopilot]] set in Vertical Speed Mode, which uses feet per minute to determine descent rates, instead of Flight Path Angle Mode, which uses the angle of the aircraft in flight, and then set "33" for "3.3° descent angle. At the time, the display showing the descent rate in feet only showed the first two digits, so 3300 feet per minute would be displayed as 33, not 3300. As a result, instead of a gradual 3.3° of descent, the aircraft instead entered a high descent rate of {{cvt|3300|ft}} per minute until it impacted into terrain.<ref name="BEA"/>

The pilots had no warning of the imminent impact because [[Air Inter]] had not equipped its aircraft with a [[ground proximity warning system]] (GPWS). At the time, GPWS was not required on A320 aircraft. It is speculated that the lack of a GPWS was because Air Inter, facing strong competition from France's [[TGV]] high-speed trains, may have encouraged its pilots to fly fast at low level (up to {{cvt|350|kn|km/h mph|disp=sqbr}} below {{cvt|10000|ft|disp=sqbr}}, while other airlines generally do not exceed {{cvt|250|kn|km/h mph|disp=sqbr}}), and flying at those increased speeds at low altitudes caused GPWS systems to give too many nuisance warnings.<ref name="TheFinalBlow">{{Cite episode |title=The Final Blow |series=[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]] |network=[[Discovery Channel Canada]] / [[National Geographic Channel]] |season=9 |year=2010}}</ref>

==Aircraft==
The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1988, was an [[Airbus A320 family|Airbus A320-111]] registered as F-GGED with [[serial number]] 015. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had accumulated a total of 6,316 airframe hours and 7,194 takeoff and landing cycles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 November 1993 |title=OFFICIAL REPORT into the accident on 20 January 1992 near Mont Sainte-Odile (Bas-Rhin) of the AIRBUS A320 registered F-GGED operated by Air Inter [English translation] |url=https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1992/19920120-0_A320_F-GGED.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2019-07-01 |website= |publisher=[[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]] |via=Aviation Safety Network|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024418/https://reports.aviation-safety.net/1992/19920120-0_A320_F-GGED.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Accident Airbus A320-111 F-GGED, Monday 20 January 1992 |url=https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/325614 |access-date=2024-08-01 |website=asn.flightsafety.org}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[File:Site crash Mont Sainte-Odile 1992.jpg|thumb|The crash site of Flight 148 with a memorial plaque]]
Accident investigators recommended 35 changes in their report. Airbus modified the interface of the autopilot so that a vertical speed setting would be displayed as a four-digit number, preventing confusion with the Flight Path Angle mode.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/35913 |title=DSpace@MIT: Experimental Study of Vertical Flight Path Mode Awareness |last1=Johnson |first1=Eric N. |last2=Pritchett |first2=Amy R.|author2-link=Amy Pritchett |date=March 1995 |website=Dspace.mit.edu |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology |hdl=1721.1/35913 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120521172730/http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/www/labs/ASL/MODE_AWARENESS/mode_awareness.html |archive-date=21 May 2012 |access-date=8 February 2014}}</ref> The [[flight data recorder]], which was destroyed before investigators could obtain any data, due to extended exposure to the post-crash fire, was upgraded so that it was able to withstand higher temperatures, and for a longer period of time.<ref name="BEA"/><ref name="TheFinalBlow"/> The report also recommended that pilot training for the A320 should be enhanced, and that ground proximity warning systems should be required to be installed on all A320 aircraft as part of the minimum equipment list. Air Inter equipped its aircraft with ground proximity warning systems before the investigation was completed.<ref name="BEA"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/air-france-ceo-jean-cyril-spinetta-defends-rejection-of-gpws-equipment-on-air-inter-a320-fleet-despite-fatal-1992-st-odile-mountainside-crash-210280/ |title=Air France CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta defends rejection of GPWS equipment on Air Inter A320 fleet, despite fatal 1992 St Odile mountainside crash |last=Turner |first=Aimée |date=2006-10-31 |website=Flightglobal.com |publisher=[[Flight International]] |access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/video-january-1992-air-inter-mt-saint-odile-crash-manslaughter-verdict-expected-7-november-in-colmar-210218/ |title=Video: January 1992 Air Inter Mt Saint Odile crash manslaughter verdict expected 7 November in Colmar |last=Wastnage |first=Justin |date=2006-10-25 |website=Flightglobal.com |publisher=Flight International |access-date=2019-11-01}}</ref>

== Notable deaths ==
* [[Jean-Pierre Lecocq]], Belgian [[Molecular Biology|molecular biologist]] and [[entrepreneur]].

==Dramatization==
The story of the disaster was featured on the ninth season of [[Cineflix]] television show ''[[Mayday (Canadian TV series)|Mayday]]'' in the episode entitled "The Final Blow" (also known as ''Air Crash Investigation'' as episode entitled "Crashed and Missing" or "Doomed to Fail" (S09E07)).<ref name="TheFinalBlow"/>

It is featured in season 2, episode 5, of the TV show ''[[Why Planes Crash]]'', in an episode called "Sudden Impact".{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}
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==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}

*''[[Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety]]''
**"[http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1992/f-ed920120/htm/f-ed920120.html RAPPORT de la commission d'enquête sur l'accident survenu le 20 janvier 1992 près du Mont Sainte-Odile (Bas Rhin) à l'Airbus A 320 immatriculé F-GGED exploité par la compagnie Air Inter]. [REPORT of the Commission of Inquiry on into the accident on 20 January 1992 near Mont Sainte-Odile (Bas-Rhin) of the AIRBUS A320 registered F-GGED operated by the company Air Inter]" {{in lang|fr}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120613020220/http://www.bea.aero/docspa/1992/f-ed920120/htm/f-ed920120.html Archive])
**[https://www.bea.aero/uploads/tx_elydbrapports/F-GGED.pdf PDF version] {{in lang|fr}}
*[https://rvs-bi.de/publications/Incidents/DOCS/ComAndRep/Strasbourg/Strasbourgrep/strasbourgrep.html Text version of final report] at the [[University of Bielefeld]] {{in lang|fr}}
*{{YouTube|title=CVR recording|id=oHgE7SvxfCQ}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in France between 1950 and 1999}}
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[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in France]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Airbus A320]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1992]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by design or manufacturing errors]]
[[Category:Air Inter accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:January 1992 in Europe]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by air traffic controller error]]