Air France Flight 343
An Air France Super Constellation similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 29 August 1960 |
| Summary | Crashed following aborted landing in rainy conditions; cause undetermined |
| Site | Atlantic Ocean, off Dakar, Senegal 14°43′03″N 17°31′21″W / 14.71750°N 17.52250°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation |
| Operator | Air France |
| Registration | F-BHBC |
| Flight origin | Paris, France |
| 1st stopover | Yoff Airport, Dakar, Senegal |
| 2nd stopover | Monrovia, Liberia |
| Destination | Abidjan, Ivory Coast |
| Occupants | 63 |
| Passengers | 55 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Fatalities | 63 |
| Survivors | 0 |
Air France Flight 343 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Paris, France, to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, with scheduled stopovers at Dakar, Senegal and Monrovia, Liberia. On 29 August 1960, around 06:50, the aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while attempting to land at Yoff Airport, Dakar. All 55 passengers and 8 crew were killed. A tribunal concluded that the pilot, who had earlier been punished by Air France for recklessness, had continued to land without use of instruments in bad weather, amounting to willful misconduct.