On 19 September 1989 , UTA flight 772 , a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 ( registration N54629 ) operating the Brazzaville — N'Djamena — Paris CDG sector , was bombed 46 minutes after take-off from N'Djamena causing the aircraft to crash while flying over Niger . Investigations and court cases have implicated Libyan state actors in the bombing . All 156 passengers and 14 crew members on board perished . For nearly 20 years , this incident marked the deadliest air disaster involving a French-operated airliner , in terms of loss of life . As of June 2009 , it ranks as the second-deadliest ( see Air France flight 447 ) ( This incident was briefly noted in Neil Peart 's book '' The Masked Rider : Cycling in West Africa '' as he was on this flight just months prior . )
UTA flight 772
UTA Flight 772
Union de Transports Aériens