Isère

The single engine aircraft departed Alpe d'Huez Aerodrome with one pilot and two employees from Europe 1, one journalist and one sound engineer, who wanted to make a reportage about the recent avalanches. While approaching the mountain located above Alpe d'Huez, the aircraft was caught by severe downdrafts and crashed in a rocky area located at an altitude of 2,070 meters. A passenger was killed while both other occupants were seriously injured. Few hours later, they died from their injuries.
Crew:
Mathieu Conti.
Passengers:
Pierre Nicoli, sound engineer,
Francis Lauga, journalist.

An airshow was organised at Grenoble-Saint-Geoirs Airport on this sunny Sunday. Three passengers won their first flight by a lottery and embarked on this Caudron Phalène owned by the Aéroclub de Saint Etienne de Saint Geoirs. While flying around the airport, the aircraft went out of control, dove into the ground and crashed in Grand-Lemps, few km west of the airport. All four occupants were killed.

The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Rome to Montreal with intermediate stops in Paris, Shannon and Keflavik, carrying a crew of seven and 51 Canadian pilgrims flying back home after a pilgrimage in Rome and having seen the Pope. While cruising by night at an altitude of 6,000 feet between Grenoble and Gap, the four engine airplane hit the east slope of the Mt Obiou (Grande Tête de l'Obiou) culminating in the attitude of 2,789 meters. SAR operations were quickly conducted but several hours were necessary for the rescuers to access the crash site that was difficult to reach. The wreckage was found in a snow covered terrain and all 58 occupants were killed.
Crew:
Orville-Alfred Olmstead, pilot,
Robert-James Henderson, copilot,
Henry-Thomas Warkentin, navigator,
Arthur Bethwell, navigator,
Dennis-Norman Nichols, radio operator,
Roderick-Malcolm McIsaac, purser,
Helen-Marjory Johnston, stewardess.

On approach to Lyon-Bron Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with fog. On final, the pilot in command descended to low when the aircraft hit a chestnut tree, overturned and crashed in flames in a field located in Saint-Just-Chaleyssin, about 15 km from runway 34 threshold. The aircraft was destroyed by a post crash fire and five people were killed, three crew members and two passengers.
Crew killed were:
Louis Villeval, pilot,
Pierre Vire, radio navigator,
Jean-Maurice Dauget, mechanic.
Passengers killed were:
Mr. & Mrs. Haick.

The aircraft left Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport at 1330LT bound for Paris-Le Bourget with an intermediate stop in Lyon-Bron. The ETA in Bron was 1600LT. About half an hour prior to his scheduled arrival in Lyon, the crew informed ATC in Montélimar-Ancône that he was flying east of Valence, approaching Grenoble, and that he was encountering poor weather conditions with heavy snow falls. Few minutes later, the aircraft hit the east slope of Mt Moucherolle and crashed at an altitude of 2,289 meters. The wreckage was found a day later and all 23 occupants were killed. Apparently due to weather conditions, the aircraft was flying too low and off track at the time of the accident, maybe following a navigational error on part of the crew.
Crew:
Eugène Poulon, pilot,
Yves Lucchesi, copilot,
Roger Bourgne, radio navigator,
Marcel Wauthier, mechanic,
Marcel Bouthien, steward.

After its departure from Lyon, bound for Istres and flying south of Grenoble in poor weather conditions, the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in the Dévoluy Mountain Range. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended few days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the crew was found. The wreckage was localized by walkers on September 26, 1946, at an altitude of 2,700 meters, in a craggy area located between the Petit Obiou and the Grand Obiou. All 11 occupants were killed.

About four minutes after takeoff from Lyon-Bron Airport, the right engine caught fire. The pilot attempted an emergency landing in a snow covered field but the aircraft collided with poplars and crashed, bursting into flames. While the aircraft was destroyed by fire, all five crew members evacuated safely. The crew was returning to his base following a bombing mission over Rhine bridges. It is believed that the aircraft may have been damaged by the German Flak during the operation. The crew was attached to the Groupe de Bombardement Moyen 2/63 Sénégal.
Crew:
Lt Willy Pinhede, pilot,
Lt Duwernell, copilot,
S/Lt Stoff, navigator,
Adj Sagazan, radio operator,
Victor Schoenenberger, flight engineer.

The aircraft was on its way to Kandy, Ceylon, with a crew of 7 and three passengers on board, among them Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory and his wife. While flying east of Grenoble at an altitude of 8,000 feet, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with snowstorm and fog. The crew elected to return but the Air Marshal insisted to continue. Shortly later, the four engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located 2 km west of Le Rivier d'Allemont and was totally destroyed. All ten occupants were killed. All rescue operations were suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft was found. The wreckage and the dead bodies were eventually spotted by a local resident on June 4, 1945. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory was appointed Air Commander-in-Chief of South East Asia Command (SEAC).
Crew:
S/L Gordon Lancaster, pilot,
F/L Peter Chinn, copilot,
F/L Keith Mooring, navigator,
F/L John Casey, wireless operator,
F/O John Enser, flight engineer,
Cpl John Burgess, fitter,
L/A John Burnett, fitter,
Sgt Harold Chandler, steward.
Passengers:
Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory,
Lady Doris Jean Leigh-Mallory.

The crew was engaged in a supply mission to the French Resistance. While cruising by night and low visibility, the four engine aircraft hit a hilly terrain located near Bec de l'Orient, in the Vercors mountains, near Autrans. All 7 crew were killed.
Crew:
Gerald Dennis Carroll, pilot,
Arthur Edward Reid, pilot,
Sergeant Peter Theodore Thompson, flight engineer,
Sergeant Ronald Denis Clement, air gunner,
Sergeant William Kenneth Radford, air gunner,
Sergeant Alvin James Taylor, air bomber,
Sergeant Gordon Stanley Woodrow, air gunner.

The crew left RAF Lissett, East Yorkshire, on a bombing mission to Italy. While overflying the east part of France by night, the aircraft went out of control and crashed in a wooded area located 14 km east of Vienna. All seven occupants were killed.
Crew (158th Squadron):
Sgt E. Le Huray,
Sgt H. Pennell,
Sgt F. G. Shaw,
Sgt T. A. Roberts,
Sgt C. A. Budd,
Sgt A. V. M. Barron,
Sgt V. G. E. Briant.