12/02/2025
Air France Flight 212 (1969) was a scheduled international passenger service operated by Air France. On 3 December 1969, a Boeing 707-328B (registration F-BHSZ, named “Château de Kerjean”) departed from Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela, bound for Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, as part of a long multi-stop route from Santiago, Chile to Paris. Just about one minute after takeoff — at roughly 3,000 feet altitude — the aircraft unexpectedly plunged into the sea about 6.5 km off the Venezuelan coast and sank in approximately 160 feet of water. All 62 people on board were killed, with no survivors.
The cause of the crash remains officially undetermined. The investigation by France’s BEA did not release a public report, and the documents remain classified until 2029. Over the years, several theories have emerged, including an evasive maneuver to avoid another aircraft, engine failure, fuel contamination, a possible onboard fire, or even the detonation of an explosive device. Because no conclusive explanation was ever made public, the loss of Flight 212 remains one of the unresolved mysteries in commercial aviation history.
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