Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 was a passenger flight on 21 August 1994 which crashed approximately ten minutes after takeoff from Agadir–Al Massira Airport in Morocco. All 44 passengers and crew on board were killed. It was the deadliest ATR 42 aircraft crash at that point in time. An investigation showed that the crash was deliberately caused by one of the pilots.
Background
Aircraft The aircraft involved was an ATR 42-312 which had its maiden flight on 20 January 1989. The aircraft was delivered to Royal Air Maroc on 24 March the same year. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW120 turboprop engines.
Crew The captain was 32-year-old Younes Khayati, who had 4,500 flight hours. The first officer was Sofia Figuigui.
Flight + Victims' nationalities Nationality Passengers Crew Total Morocco 20 4 24 Italy 8 8 France 5 5 Netherlands 4 4 Kuwait 2 2 United States 1 1 Total 40 4 44 Flight 630 was a scheduled flight from Agadir, Morocco to Casablanca using an ATR 42 aircraft. At approximately 10 minutes into the flight while climbing through , the aircraft entered a steep dive, and crashed into a region of the Atlas Mountains about north of Agadir.
The crash site was at Douar Izounine, about north of Agadir. Among the 40 passengers on board were a Kuwaiti prince, Ali al-Humoud al-Jaber al-Sabah, and his wife. The prince was the brother of , then Kuwait's minister of defence.
Investigation The commission that investigated the crash determined it to be pilot suicide. Flight recorder data revealed that the ATR 42's autopilot was intentionally disconnected by Captain Khayati, who then deliberately put the aircraft into a dive. Evidence also showed that during the descent, First Officer Figuigui had sent out distress calls once aware of the captain's intentions. The Moroccan pilots union disputed the suicide explanation, claiming that Captain Khayati was mentally fit and showed no signs of frustration, and instead claiming that Captain Khayati reported a "technical problem" prior to takeoff, although the investigative commission never found evidence supporting this claim. The crash was the deadliest incident involving an ATR 42 aircraft at that point in time.
See also
Accidents and incidents involving the ATR 42 family Aviation safety
List of declared or suspected pilot suicides List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft Trigana Air Service Flight 267, current deadliest aviation accident involving an ATR 42 Suicide by pilot
Specific incidents EgyptAir Flight 990 Germanwings Flight 9525 Japan Airlines Flight 350 LAM Mozambique Airlines Flight 470 SilkAir Flight 185
References
External links A photo of the accident aircraft