Maritime Central Airways Flight 315
Accident
Flight 315 departed London Heathrow Airport for Reykjavík at 21:48 GMT. Then, after stopping in Reykjavík for 66 minutes to refuel, it proceeded on the next leg of its route to Canada. After entering Canadian airspace, the flight crew radioed that they wished to bypass Goose Bay and proceed to Montreal instead. At 18:10, Quebec Radio Range Station relayed a message to the aircraft, requesting it to contact Montreal Range while approaching Rougemont for clearance. This was the final communication with the aircraft prior to the accident.
While flying in the vicinity of Quebec City at an altitude of approx. 6,000 feet, Flight 315 flew into a cumulonimbus cloud. Encountering severe turbulence, the aircraft somehow lost control and went into a near-vertical dive from which it could not recover. At 18:15 UTC, at a speed of over 200 knots, the aircraft slammed into the ground near Issoudun in a 70-degree nose-down position and a slight left bank angle. All 73 passengers and six crew were killed on impact.
References
- ^ "Aviation Safety Network".
- ^ "List of top 10 deadliest plane crashes in Canada". HuffPost Canada. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2021.