longest routes, Perth-Sydney and Perth-Melbourne, from 1960. However, the Australian government blocked the order, saying that any further diversity in full-size airliners used on domestic routes would have an adverse impact on aircraft servicing within Australia. Civil operators Military and government operators Incidents and accidents For 45 years of commercial exploitation, 67 Caravelles have been withdrawn from service as a result of destruction or for irreparable damage. None of these accidents and incidents are attributed to a design defect, only a few technical failures, human errors, or sabotage. The total loss of life in accidents in the Caravelle is more than 1,300. The accident rate per million flights is estimated at more than 5.5, compared with less than 1 for the most recent airliners. 19 January 1960 – Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 871, a Caravelle I, crashed at Esenboga Airport, Turkey due to excessive descent for reasons unknown. Seven crew members and 35 passengers lost their lives. 19 May 1960 — A Caravelle of Air Algérie, F-OBNI, collided with a Stampe single-engine biplane on approach to Paris-Orly and managed to land. The small aircraft was destroyed and its pilot was killed, as well as one passenger of the Caravelle, 18 other persons on board were injured. 12 September 1961 – Air France Flight 2005, a Caravelle III, crashed near Rabat, Morocco after the crew misread instruments, killing all 77 on board. 27 September 1961 – Varig Flight 592-J, a Caravelle III, crashed when landing at Brasília International Airport in Brazil, caught fire and was totally destroyed. Despite this, there were no casualties. Among the passengers were the governor of the Rio Grande do Sul state, Leonel Brizola, and three ministers of state of the newly sworn president João Goulart. This was the first air accident in the new Brazilian capital, founded only 16 months before. 4 September 1963 – Swissair Flight 306 crashed shortly after take-off from Zürich following an in-flight fire, killing all 80 people on board. 18 April 1964 – Middle East Airlines Flight 444 (registration OD-AEM) crashed at night into the Persian Gulf, 10 miles out from Dhahran Airport, Saudi Arabia, killing all 49 on board; the cause was never determined. 15 February 1966 – an Indian Airlines Caravelle VI-N registered as VT-DPP crashed short of the runway at Palam Airport in poor visibility, killing two of 80 on board. 4 September 1966 – an Indian Airlines