The deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors and the deadliest aviation disaster in France, killing all 346 aboard.
Key Facts
- Total deaths
- 346 (335 passengers + 11 crew)
- Aircraft type
- McDonnell Douglas DC-10
- Distance from Paris
- 40 km
- Deadliest until
- Tenerife disaster, 27 March 1977
- Route
- Istanbul–Paris–London
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The DC-10's rear cargo door, which had a known design flaw in its locking mechanism, blew open shortly after takeoff from Orly Airport. The sudden decompression collapsed the cabin floor, severing control cables routed beneath it and leaving the crew unable to control the aircraft.
On 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed into the Ermenonville Forest approximately 40 kilometres north of Paris, killing all 335 passengers and 11 crew on board. The impact left no survivors, making it the deadliest single-aircraft accident to that date.
The disaster prompted major regulatory and design reforms for the DC-10, including mandatory cargo door modifications across the fleet. It remained the deadliest aviation accident in history until the 1977 Tenerife disaster, and it still stands as the deadliest single-aircraft accident without survivors and the worst aviation accident ever recorded in France.