Airbus A320 CRASHES during AIRSHOW! | Air France flight 296 

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I remembered the news report saying there were three fatalities and had at the time assumed it was the flight crew. I would never have thought passengers would be onboard during an airshow.

That whole scenario was crazy right from the start. “Maximum attack angle” at slow speed at 100 ft in an airliner full of passengers is nuts.

The women that went back into the airplane to try to save that little girl is a HERO. May her heroic actions never be forgotten.

"I have full confidence in the safety of the aircraft" *proceeds to disconnect safety systems*

My heart goes with those who passed away, Still considering the gravity of crash it is relieving to know that 133 occupants survived...

As a wheelchair user one of the scariest things for me about flying is the thought of being in a “survivable” plane crash but not being able to get out because I can’t walk. How awful for the two children and the woman who weren’t able to escape 😔

Some more insights from this crash (a little long! ☺️), as I was partially “concerned” about it at that time: At that time all commercial engines needed 8 seconds to go from Idle to Full thrust (standard at that time; economy). I worked at SNECMA in R&D who produced the CFM56 (GE-SNECMA corporation) and was, at that time, working in a new Low Pressure Turbine (5 stages instead of 4, CFM56-5C) for the future versions of the CFM56 (now I am a Professional Pilot). We thought, right after this accident was announced, that “our” engine was the reason of the crash. Then we realized that the time the pilot took to go from Idle to Full thrust was one of the main reason for the aircraft accident, because the computer calculated it couldn’t give the thrust it needed to accelerate (more speed to climb without stalling the aircraft). So, the computer “decided” to descend to give the speed it needed to then climb (the computer doesn’t integrate where the plane is in relation to the ground or obstacles). Increase in thrust (through the throttles) in an Airbus should be considered increase in speed (especially in relation to the Power Curve), not just increase in power. We calculated that the pilot should have increase power from Idle to Full (at least 60%) before turning toward the “runway”. If you are on Idle and increase the power to Full on the engines WHILE being at or very near to Stall Speed, the computer will make the aircraft pitch down (even if you pull up on the joystick) to increase the speed to avoid the aircraft to stall until enough speed is enough to level off and then climb. I understand that some pilots will say that’s not safe, but in fact, it’s way much better than to stall the aircraft by pulling on the joystick without the power needed to accelerate and then climb (the Power Curve is of main importance in this low speed conditions). That ultimate computer safety actually saved most of the passengers and its crew. A test in a simulator proved that without that computer safety, the plane would have stall and the crash would have been fatal for all. Also, right after that accident, all modern engines were programmed to go from Idle to Full thrust in 6 seconds (now 5 seconds), instead of 8 seconds. It doesn’t seem a lot, but in that case the accident may not have happened, because the aircraft wouldn’t have go down as much as it did, giving more margins in altitude to be finally able to climb. This “show” was the worst flight “demonstration” ever done. No serious preparation and having passengers on board, including handicapped people (for a good cause). All these passengers have been “lucky” to fly in an airplane which, in a way, saved their lives, no thanks to the pilots and Air France which authorized this ridiculous “show”; tragic for those who died. The Captain was also known to be a “know-it-all” and a show-off; no excuses for him! Real air show pilots are always doing rehearsals before performing and always timed their manœuvres, including altitudes and positions relative to the ground, speed and power needed to accomplish them safely, with the weather (cloud ceiling) and the terrain/limitations in mind. .. and, most of all, knowing the limits and characteristics of the airplane they fly. Again, those pilots were just “amateurs”, not air shows’ pilots. It shouldn’t have been authorized in the first place; shame to Air France managers of that time. Showing off in aviation is not for “amateurs”!

It's absolutely unfathomable that this flight - basically a joy ride - was ever allowed to take place with passengers on board.

12:00 - What astonishes me to this day is that at no point did anyone involved in Air France's planning of the exhibition flight, including the flight crew, bother asking Airbus themselves - and their test pilots in particular - what their own exhibition flight parameters were. As I recall, Airbus's standard procedure was to perform a low-speed flypast demonstrating alpha protection somewhere between 600ft and 1,000ft (depending upon conditions), then circle back and perform a high-speed flypast at a lower altitude. If Air France had presented their intention to combine the low-speed alpha demonstration with a low-altitude flypast to Airbus, the likelihood is that Airbus would have done everything in their power to persuade Air France not to go ahead - even Airbus's own test pilots wouldn't dream of cutting margins that close. And that's without even touching on the fact they had passengers on board.

It's actually remarkable how many people survived this. I remember seeing it on the news that evening and seeing the huge fireball I was thinking there wouldn't be many survivors.

What a woman, to not leave this child alone in total fear,she decided to comfort her, that is unbelievably tragic but it makes me proud that there are still people that put there own lives at risk for children. Those poor humans.

Let's all take a moment to reflect on the bravery of the woman who heard the little girl and gave her life to try and save her.

It's weird how the woman who risked her own life and sadly perished with the girl isn't mentioned more when you look up this incident, she's a brave soul that knew life is too short and the little girl had not enjoyed half of it.

I kept thinking "They didn't take a load of passengers for the fly-by, did they?" That alone seemed like a BAD idea.

Nobody seems to mention the fact that all the Air France cabin crew saved themselves, leaving three passengers including two small children, on of them disabled, behind. Compare this with the BOAC stewardess Jane Harrison who in 1968 had the chance to escape but turned around and went back to save her passengers, dying in the process. A shabby day for Air France.

So plan A (when people had the luxury of time in the office to discuss it over coffee) was to disable a safety limit, ride the next safety limit, ignore aircraft terrain warning announcements... at 100ft and idle power on an unsurveyed flight path through a forest in a new/novel airplane with PAX onboard. The negligence involved deserved a lot more gaol time.

I was nearly on that flight. As it was, I was stuck in a traffic jam and missed it. I was annoyed at the time, but I regard it as fortunate now.

Who the heck leaves children behind... That woman is a hero and her name should be remembered. May their three beautiful souls rest in peace.

I recall when I was a propulsion engineer looking after this CFM56 engine in 1989, there was a problem concerning engine spooling up from idle. It was inconsistent and it became procedure at takeoff to get both engines to about 45% N1 before going to takeoff power. There was also a problem during air tests to meet the CAA 8 second rule from idle to max for the CFM engine.

When the captain said: "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry" I could literally feel the overconfidence that made this accident happen.

I have infinite respect for the woman who tried too save the children. My heart goes out to the families. The woman's family should be very proud of her. Very sad 😔

How incredible that after the accident the pilot blamed the plane instead of accepting responsibility for his actions. He was reckless beyond belief and the 6-month prison sentence was way too short. I'm sure the passengers were not aware that their captain was going to disable the safety systems designed to keep them all alive. If a pilot had ever told me pre-flight that he/she was planning such tomfoolery in a commercial plane, I would never get on board.

He's the kind of a pilot I fear. Why do they have to show off? And only a 6 month sentence!

The woman who went back for the kids is a hero, even though neither of them made it out alive.

Not sure how any of those adults and fled the plane could leave kids behind. That woman who tried is a hero.

Air shows create an environment that encourages manoeuvres meant to thrill spectators at the same time as appealing to the pilots more hubristic side. Safety sometimes drops from a primary consideration which as an infrequent flyer i would hope would never be overtaken by other concerns. The woman gave her life trying to save a stranger. Selfless and heroic.

The radio altimeter tells them 15 seconds before the go around that they're well below 100ft. They never attempt to climb back up until too late.

So here’s a senior Air France Captain that doesn’t understand the dangers associated with a high alpha pass,, (one of the most dangerous maneuvers in show flying), slow, flying below briefed minimums , at a venue he has not reconned or attended a boss briefing for, flying a demonstration with passengers on board! What could possibly go wrong?

To me, it is completely unacceptable to do "aerobatic" maneuvers with a load of passengers. By aerobatic, I am referring to any maneuvers that are close to maximum limits especially in close proximity to terrain. Unbelievably stupid!

So I discovered your channel by chance yesterday and have been binge watching your videos non stop, the way you present and explain individual incidents is second too none! I don’t watch this sort of thing for any ghoulish reasons, more for the explanation of how these disasters can occur in the first place. Your added input as a professional pilot is invaluable when putting scenarios into layman’s terms, I can only imagine what is involved in the editing and inclusion of the graphics you provide….let alone the time involved in the research of individual incidents. Seriously well done Sir, I don’t fly often but I would feel a lot safer with your good self in the Captain’s chair! All the best and thank you for your efforts, I’m subscribed as of now.

I never imagined there were so many survivors. To me it just seemed like a non-survivable accident (although I’d always thought - wrongly - that the pilots had actually stalled the plane over the trees, which would’ve been a much worse situation).

I have often seen videos of the accident here and there on the internet and assumed(due to the explosion) that everyone died. Thank you for this video which has cleared this in my head. Amazing that so many survived. My heart goes out to those that died, but to that woman who seen that little girl and went to help at the cost of her own life......what a brave person she was, just selfless!

What a courageous woman she was! Putting her life behind trying to save one girl, it is simply heroic! RIP to all three passengers

Extreme and profound respect for the woman who went back after the two children. _/\_

This is the kind of thing that happens when you say things like "the airbus wont allow you to crash." It's like saying a ship is "unsinkable." The hubris is astonishing. People begin to believe that nonsense and take actions that prove really stupid, thinking the safety systems will protect them.

I love how the aviation industry learns from every accident to avoid the next. That's why I'm always comfortable flying. Thank you for this video.

It’s crazy watching interviews with the pilot and how confident he was that it wasn’t his fault. It’s mind blowing how some people refuse to admit they screwed up

One thing that seems strange in this accident is that the pilots didn’t seem to leave themselves any margin for error. To be at alpha prot at or even below the minimum acceptable altitude with a dirty configuration, what’s between you and a single mistake or unlucky event? They were both very experienced pilots and I’m surprised they were comfortable riding so close to the edge even if nothing went wrong

The lack of preparation of the aircrew is a huge issue I would imagine as a show pilot. I'd imagine those guys always scout a location, then make show plans after seeing the surrounding area. To do such a low fly by on a huge plane with last second knowledge of the airfield is crazy.

One of the things why I admire you MP is that you put a simulated version of the actual event, instead of showing the real video footage, I truly respect that, it shows your character and the respect to those fatalities on board that day.

This is a really good example of "never point your aeroplane anywhere that your mind hasn't been 5 minutes before", by the time they caught sight of the field, they were rushing and never caught up to where they were supposed to be to conduct the event safely

UNBELIEVABLE what this flight crew (Captain especially) did. With passengers on board. Unbelievable.

The lady that went back for the kid should have her family looked after for life! That is some serious guts and heart! What a woman ❤❤😢

Found your channel about a week or so ago and have been hooked on it since! Your videos are excellently put together, better than anything in the same genre produced for TV. Thank you and the team for the content.

"5 seconds is a long time" - especially at 30 feet altitude.

It seems as though Airbus built an impressively sturdy plane. In the Miracle on the Hudson and this accident, both times the aircraft managed to stay intact.

I like these series a lot. You´re doing great. Often, Air crash series are over dramatized, or repetetive. You share a lot of in dept info, get to the point, and you´re describing everything with such accuracy that I don´t even have to watch: I can just listen, which is great when having insomnia and don´t like to watch a bright screen at night :)

According to their (brief) briefing, the co-pilot was meant to add thrust (60%) during the maneuver. This to me seemed to be a contributing factor, as well as the pilot ignoring the altitude called out by the co-pilot. The woman who went back to rescue the little girl, what a hero she was. Being in such toxic smoke does overcome one very quickly. I had a house situation whereby I was rescuing a neighbour, and I was able to keep going out to the hallway for some air. I am so surprised that most got out of that aircraft or what was left of it.

This is a demonstration of the dangers associated with changing a well rehearsed plan. No time for a proper risk assessment.

I was live there with my best friend and saw every second of this accident....very sad...for 20 seconds no one said a word and then most people began to cry...I had very often nightmares and still the pictures in front of me today!

A truly masterpiece in explaining in a very clear and concise way this tragic accident. Congratulations Mentour Pilot !

I've been binging your content for the past few days after discovering this amazing channel, and while there are many incredibly sad stories with huge loss of life, this one hit especially hard. Those poor kids.

"I'm sorry, Dave, I can't let you do that..." -Hal, 2001

Perfectly good aircraft doing exactly what it was asked. Heart goes out to the two children and the hero that tried to rescue them.

From reporting at the time, I assumed the cause of the crash was a conflict with the fly-by-wire system. It is interesting to discover that it was the normal inertia of the engines the prevented the aircraft from climbing out of the position the pilot had put it in to. It is amazing that modern aircraft are tough enough to land in a forest with so few (though still tragic) casualties.

you have an awesome brain look after it and thank you for sharing your passion

Captain during briefing: "Do not go below 100 feet." Captain during fly-by: "Forget about the plan, YOLO!"

It’s amazing to think that this happened almost 32 years ago. At the time, I remember the media were all over the idea that fly by wire as responsible for the crash. So it’s great to learn the full story. That was a great explanation, even if I had to rewind to review some of the technical points. The animation shows winglets, which were not standard at that time and were definitely not on this aircraft. I have noticed that on other videos, the livery of nearby aircraft is the current livery rather than the one that was current at the time. I think I first flew on an Airbus (Air Canada) in 1991. Meanwhile, I have not set foot on an aircraft for over a year. God, I miss flying! Damn virus......

When you have served as a stewardess in AF you know that there is another parameter that has not been mentionned in this accident : arrogance ! I'm not surprised at the deniying of the pilot to this day. Maybe sometimes people will talk about the attitude of those in the cockpit that day. And in all the AF structure also. What a shame ! disgusting !

Wow! I had no idea that only three people died, still very unfortunate but it’s a miracle that everybody else survived. The first time I saw the footage I figured, given the large fireball, that everyone on board had to of passed away. Excellent video as always Mentour! Thank you!

It seems remarkable now that an airliner full of passengers was being used as an exhibit in an air show. Thankfully one of the contributing factors to the accident - the very low speed - was also the partial reason why so many people survived.

The real punishment was to have to live with the consequences of their mistakes. The one pilot's continued denial of responsibility despite the evidence, is a slap in the face of the children who died.

who considers it a prize to be a passenger in an experimental air show stunt involving an airliner? You'd have to have paid me to be on that plane.

I remember seeing this as a short with the words "This is what happens when you use computers instead of pilots". I knew there was more to this story. Thank you for clarifying that. Now about what you might do a story on. How about what the near future holds for aircraft design. I have seen glimpses of some very beautiful shapes of things to come. Your ability to flesh things out and explain greater detail in a simpler, easier to understand way, would be wonderful for showing us what exciting ideas may be about to manifest into shadow casting reality! Thank you Sir.👍

I was only a child back then, but I remember this incident and hearing all the news report about it... that was way back before I even learned how to speak English and read a lot about it in the French scientific magazine "Science & Vie" that had a whole issue devoted to discussing this incident. Apparently the engines performed better than they were supposed to and spooled up a few seconds faster than normal... but it was too late.

This is the airfield where I am based. At the right time of year, you can still barely make out the outline in the forest where the trees were cut in half by the plane.

I just wanted to say that I think it's very kind of the woman that she went back to help the girl even though she put herself in danger and sadly died as a result.

Love the clear and articulate presentation of this difficult topic! Thanks!

man o man! such a complex subject explained so easily! the man deserves the highest award for articulating the whole lexicon for common man to grasp easily

Did either pilot ever fly again? Juan Brown of Blancolirio RU-vid (he is a 777 pilot) has said: one of the most dangerous flights in aviation is when two very experienced pilots get on board.

Captain Mentour, just want to tell you run such a great channel. Thank you a lot for all effort you put in. Thank for all episodes you presented in professional and information rich level so far!

I love this channel and I'm completely hooked. I used to be a pilot so this is quite interesting for me as I can relate from my own experience. However the real genius behind this production is the delivery. I'm curious how much effort goes into non aviation aspect of the videos (for example in the selection of the two very bright pillows or the dogs or the wall art) Anyone can read the NTSB reports and get the same info but the delivery is where this channel shines. I just wanted to say great job, I appreciate the entertainment and education, I can only imagine how much work goes into making every one of these videos to the amazing quality. I especially like whenever you show that any of these minor accidents, errors or horrible tragedies have someone positive to teach afterwords and improve aviation throughout the world. One thing I've learned is that every single person placed in a specific situation can make any mistake that any other pilot has made, its a humbling realization and gives empathy toward other pilots who make mistakes. Thank you for making such great videos and to everyone who helps out with them.

I love how you seem to have really capitalized on your extra free time, the production value of your video's just keeps improving.

From the video for all these years I made the assumption the incident was not survivable. I also thought the fly by wire system played a large role in what I was calling an accident. I now realize there was no accident, just negligence. How totally wrong I was and another case of allowing a perfectly reasonable assumption to, over time, become factual in one’s own mind. I stand corrected on several levels and thank you for your instruction and correction. When I first started watching Mentour Pilot I found it interesting but after a couple of months I concluded the presentations, while accurate, were boring. The other day I landed on one of your recent videos, the one about a thousand foot a minute night descent onto an unlit runway in the middle of a storm cell. I couldn’t believe the improvements you have made. You made an equivalent leap from the Lockheed Constellation, to becoming a Boeing 777-X. If you quit RU-vid right now you have already made a huge contribution to the safety of modern flight in a manner useful to penguin and professional alike. I am 67 and my time in aviation has come but not gone thanks to your channel.

As ever, excellent technical explanation but also a polite teaching on human arrogance. Yes, it is a pleasure to learn. Eine gute Erklärung über die technischen Gründe aber auch eine gute Lehre über die menschliche Überheblichkeit. Wie immer, ein Vergnügen zu lernen.

When you started talking about the pilot, I was like huh ... Is he talking about the same guy I remember because THE guy I remember was all : "fly by wire" is a bad idea, and the "system" betrayed me. At the end of the video it all made more sense. Never actually knew that he was promoting that safety feature before that. Aaanyway .... Using an ACTUAL airliner (not a prototype) for a demonstration show is 🤯 ... And airliner has safety features for a purpose. Safety. It's not designed nor should be able to be modified to do "stunts". Which they did. And the plane performed pretty much as it was supposed to. There was a story at that time saying that, Airbus forgot to mention that once BELOW a certain altitude and in a certain configuration (like flaps, the landing gear out, etc), the computer will assume that you are actually landing and assist you by prioritizing certain things over others. Which ended up adding to the confusion and the delay in putting power back. Excellent video (as usual).

The alarm bells were ringing as soon as you said that the flight crew were two Management Training Captains. There's a recipe for disaster to begin with. I've done quite a few air displays as the F/E sitting between two pilots, normally with the fire axe in one hand. Pilot's egos grow exponentially as they get closer to the ground at air displays.

God I remember that like it was yesterday, does that make me really old! Great video again Mentour 🙌🏼

Yes, it is amazing that the pilot says that the plane didn´t apply thrust, you can hear in the videos the engines starting to spool just as the plane enters the trees, he reacted too late and was too low, as simple as that.

such a sad event, due to that 3 souls lost their lives and the woman being a wonderful lady, who put others before herself, going back to try to help the kids, may the rest in peace, thank you for covering this, thanks to you after being a away from the plane situation for a while, im watching again

Huh, I remember seeing that on the news when it happened (I was 10 at the time), and I seem to remember the media in the weeks/months following reporting on the stick being pulled all the way back, according to the flight data recorder, as you mentioned. They basically spun it as "the pilot tried to pull up but this new-fangled, untrustworthy, buggy computer overrode his commands" but nothing mentioned about pilot error during an already risky manoeuvre. Interesting to hear what really happened, even if it took 30+ years.

Basicly this fly by wire system stopped a stall and therefore saved many lives

Great video and a fantastic channel! Keep up this great work. There were a few plane crashes in Poland worth mentioning. The most important would probably be the presidential flight that tried to land in the fog in Smolensk/Russia. It's a very interesting story of a military flight crew - apparently with little experience and under extreme pressure to land from they military superiors present in the cockpit. Moments before the crash the pilot wanted to raise the plane to avoid the trees and similarly to this A320 case - the plane did not respond. As far as I understood, he used a button on the yoke instead of pushing the throttle but the button only works together with the ILS system (if that makes any sense - I'm no expert) - and there was no ILS in Smolensk that day. It was a huge tragedy. There is also an interesting incident of a Boeing 767 landing without it's landing gear in Warsaw. This one is a real mess because it's caused by an off jumper that the crew coudn't locate for an hour. The pilot did a great job of landing it safely but there there was a huge dilemma whether he was a hero or a loser because he wasted a good plane. But in reality it looks like he lacked ground support (the date it happened is an important Polish holiday) and the airline did not perform an upgrade on the hydraulic joints whose failure killed the primary hydraulic system. So while he received a medal from the Polish President, the pilot community was privately dissing him. Maybe one day you have a while to look into these. Anyway, thank you again for great videos and have safe flights!

Wow that’s amazing that 98% survived! That says a lot about these aircraft’s. I was certain that it was going to be an “all souls lost” situation

So, the pilots and Air France essentially subjected these passengers to a test flight. Incredibly stupid and arrogant.

Heartbreaking to know how the children died. I hope that the adult that came back to help them gave them some comfort before passing away. R.I.P. with the angels.

This is my favorite channel. Just about every time I read about another crash/incident you have the video explaining what happened. Thank you for doing what you do!

I've been listening to you while I work this is very far your best one yet amazing work covering these bud. I'm loving it

I was initially skeptical to these crash videos, but the depth and fullness of explanation has converted me! Another excellent video, Petter.

At the time I worked for GE on this engine program in the engineering department. As you stated in this video the engines go through very rigorous testing including acceleration testing which must be under 5 seconds. As part of the investigation those results for the engines in this aircraft were confirmed. Your video is a very accurate unbiased summary of the event. We were all saddened to learn of this mishap and the loss of life that occurred. What should have been a celebration of new technology, turned into a tragedy and a lot of second guessing. The A320 led the revolution to the fly by wire control systems that subsequently have become the standard for all modern aircraft.

Hi Petter, thanks for preparing these files, very much appreciated. I'd be curious about your insights into AF447. I was on a parallel flight from BOG to CDG that same night and saw the screens on arrival in Charles de Gaulle before connecting onwards to FRA. Shocking. Never boarded an AF flight again, being a platinum ff. TIA, Peter

I'm glad you decided to do air crash investigations, even though I watch those programs, you often fill in the unanswered questions. Thank you.

A very well done report on a tragic accident caused by human factors. So sad the two children and the woman who tried to save them perished.

The work and attention to detail you put into your presentations is exceptional. Your channel is a real asset to the aviation community.

I can never get over this one. This one will always make me crazy. Good job Mentour pilot!!

Its just depressing that the disabled child was allowed in the airshow flight even after the dangers and had no chance of escaping.

Another excellent review. I have 25,000 hours (Airbus and Boeing) and I learn from you every time. You obviously put in a lot of hard work. Thank you!

I can imagine that, from the captains perspective, perception of time went a lot slower the second he knew he screwed up. Therefore the default 5 seconds it took for the engines to ramp up felt a lot longer than he usually expects... Like the second when you're going to fall on your face but you can't do anything against it, that one second feels more like 5 to 10 seconds.

So sad anytime there is loss of life, I am amazed that so many survived. Great video