3. Paris air crash
Date: 3 March 1974
Summary: Cargo door failure due to aircraft design flaw leading to explosive decompression; loss of control
Location: Ermenonville Forest
Fontaine-Chaalis, Oise, France
18 Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club members and supporters killed in the 1974 Paris air crash.
The granite memorial, inspired by a larger one at Ermenonville near Paris, was unveiled by John Cousins, the last surviving member of a club party who had flown to France to see England play.
John had been one of a small group who decided to stay in France instead of catching the ill-fated Turkish Airlines DC10 from Orly on March 3, 1974.
The crash, in which 346 died, was the second attributed to a poorly designed cargo door latching system on the DC10 and resulted in a redesign of the locking system