The crash of the Constellation. The catastrophe of January 11, 1963

 

The causes about which one does not speak

The circumstances of the crash of the Constellation on that fateful day in January 1963 seem to be fully explained by the official accounts. After all, planes occasionally crash…
However, is the official account the final verdict? What are we to think of the discrepancy in the official account and what the local farmers in Perillos saw? They witnessed the plane literally plunging to the ground, as if attracted by a magnet; not a “crash” into the mountain as the plane could not ascend as quickly as required, which is the official verdict.
Today, only the comrades of those who died in the crash convene in Opoul-Perillos, normally in the presence of the mayor of the town. They come to remember their dead colleagues. To our knowledge, since the accident, neither the media nor anyone else has spoken about the accident. No-one has contested the official version. Even if someone was trying to stir the soup, it is not easy to penetrate through the official “wall of silence” that is so often the hallmark of the military. Nevertheless, we decided to study the local newspaper clippings of that fateful day in 1963, to see whether there could be further indications. By reading those papers, we indeed observed certain pieces of information which, undoubtedly, passed by most observers, as the horror of the tragedy had taken most of the front pages of the newspaper.

Topics that avoid discussion

The skies over Perillos seem to be somewhat “peculiar” – the scene of “peculiar activity” that is. When looking through the indexes of e.g. UFO sightings, we find a fair amount of observations that have been made in this sector. Apart from the reported sightings, there are other “observations” that have never been officially reported and hence do not appear in catalogues, but about which local people have spoken about in private – and which we have picked up.
However, so far, we have never reported on these. As mentioned, some of these have not been reported and we only have a witness’ word for it – reporting about events he or she has seen several years if not decades ago. Sometimes, we only have second-hand information, the witness himself no longer alive or willing to tell the story. Furthermore, we ourselves often question the usefulness of reporting these things to a larger audience.
Still, it remains a fact that several people have reported strange events and encounters that have occurred to them in or around Perillos. Sometimes they are what we would call “UFOs”, sometimes they are other types of anomalous experiences – and sometimes they take on a terrifying nature.
As to the events of January 1963, we do need to make an exception and delve into this world of the bizarre. The newspaper that reports of the crash of the Constellation, obviously carried other news items too. One of these involved the French singer Johnny Halliday, which is of little interest to us. Some news, however, is more interesting.

A space base

The same pages that carry the story of the crash, also talk about two other important events. The first is about the installation of a base near Port Leucate, from which rockets and satellites will be launched into space. These were the days of space exploration, and France was not going to be left behind. It had selected this region to begin its space exploration.
A few days later, we read that the first French satellite will be launched from the Port Leucate base. This launch is planned for the spring of 1965. More intriguingly, the paper reports why Port Leucate – and thus the general Perillos-Perpignan region – has been selected. According to the paper, the region is ideal because of “the rotation of the Earth”. It is remarkable that at the time, the media did not report more extensively about this extra-ordinary event, both for France and for the region. It was a major scoop and something to be proud of. The region would become France’s answer to Cape Canaveral.
However, it seems that after the initial report, nothing more was heard about this project – unless it was executed in the greatest secrecy. But if it was done in under the cloak of secrecy, we can only wonder why, in 1963, the announcement landed on the front page of a local French newspaper. For some reason, it seems that the powers that are, changed their mind – we can only wonder what those reasons were… as we can be sure that the rotational speed of the Earth and hence the desirability of the region has most likely not changed…

The strange accident of the Constellation

Let us restate the basic facts and problems of the plane crash. A Constellation is sent out on a training mission. This would normally imply a search and rescue mission on sea. Nevertheless, this time, the “training mission” seems to be of a different nature, one which includes several “observers” that are on board.
Furthermore, the newspapers report that the flight path of the plane had “just flown over Saint Laurent”, before its fateful crash. The newspaper article, detailing the installation of the future “space base”, specifically identifies St Laurent as the implantation site – even though the map reproduced in the newspaper does not make this apparent – the name “St Laurent” is not mentioned; anyone who knows the region, will see it is not “Port Leucate”, but specifically St Laurent, where the base will be built.
In the final analysis, St Laurent features twice in that day’s newspaper: once mentioned, it being on the flight path of the Constellation just before its crash; once unmentioned, in the report of the “space base”. Is it a coincidence that it does not get a specific mention in the second article?

The mission of the Constellation

Again, we underline that this training mission had a team of “observers” on board – and we do not know what exactly it was they were “observing”. Furthermore, a third pilot was also on board – with no specific task assigned for him as the plane could not host a third pilot’s seat. Finally, there were two radio operators… again, one too many.
To this, we can add another question… what if this Constellation was on a military mission, “observing” an area that the military were going to use for a specific purpose? Such as the installation of a “space base”? Perhaps the team’s mission was related with a secondary base, linked with this “space base”? After all, we know that the American Space Shuttle is often used for military purposes as well as civilian use. The nature of these military flights is seldom – if ever – discussed.
What if the French government was pondering the installation of a military basis, near the “space base”, from which all military activity related to the space programme could be monitored? It is a question for which no answer can be provided, but it seems logical… Let us merely “add” that it is well-known that the military never discuss details of such activities… However, if this is indeed the true purpose of the Constellation’s mission, then it is equally clear that military would never reveal the truth about it… and they may have stated that the accident occurred while on a “training mission”.

“A UFO has been sighted”

However, the implantation of a space base was not the only item that was featured in the newspapers. On the day of the crash, we also read about the sighting of a UFO in the skies over the region. Thus, we can only wonder whether there is a relationship between this UFO sighting and the crash. We are not saying a UFO “shot down” the Constellation.
A strange object is seen in the skies, and the first available plane is sent out, together with a team of “observers”, to try and identify the plane. At some point during this “search”, the plane may have a defect, or perhaps it is trying to “chase” the UFO, with the pilot’s manoeuvres perhaps causing a problem, or leading the plane into a corner of the landscape, from which the pilot is later unable to recover the plane – resulting in the crash.
If part of this scenario is true – a plane is scrambled to monitor a UFO in the skies – then once again, the military may come up with a “different version” to explain the deaths of the crew involved. After all, embarrassing questions would be asked if the official verdict would read that twelve people died while chasing a UFO!
If the Constellation was indeed following a UFO, it could also explain why it was flying lower than expected, as well as the anomalies of the flight plan… why it was over Perillos... It would also explain the presence of observers on board – and perhaps even the presence of a third pilot, who may not have been there to pilot the plane, but perhaps was just another observer, trying to observe the flight behaviour of the anomalous object.

We should add that the UFO sighting in the Perpignan area was not a one-off. The newspaper itself reports that there were similar reports in the region, specifically Narbonne and Limoux, in the previous days. Perhaps the military decided to put a plane on stand-by, just in case a UFO was spotted again in the sky. Then again, the UFO was perhaps a military plane itself, which nevertheless still means that if it was a secret test mission of some new type of craft, the military would have sent out several planes to monitor the “UFO” during its test flights.
We should add that the newspaper report mentions the strange way in which the UFO moves. The phenomenon seems to have been observed between January 7 (a Monday) and the following Monday, January 14. Coincidence that the crash sits right in the middle of this phenomenon, in the region where the UFO was observed? Perhaps…

Possible conclusions

It would be foolish to make straightforward conclusions based on these two other items. But it is clear that this was a remarkable week for the sector, and that the crash of the Constellation was not a lone event; there is a possible context, and there could be a direct link with the creation of the space base and/or the UFO sightings in the region. Simply because there is no firm evidence, does not mean it is not the truth… And we can only wonder whether the newspaper did see some links between all the various events, but somehow was able to report on them, instead opting to merely report on the individual components, hoping the reader would draw his own conclusions.
The truth could also lie in a mixture of scenarios: perhaps the Constellation was indeed on its way or about to do a training mission. Perhaps the authorities learned of a UFO sighting, and decided to divert the plane or its mission, to then monitor the UFO?

The echo of Mr André Malraux and another mystery

The ingredients of the above would make for a perfect novel… and perhaps André Malraux would have transformed it into a work of fiction himself. Coincidentally, Mr André Malraux, at the time of the crash, was a senior official of the Ministry of Culture. He was, as we know, interested in Rouen, Gisors and specifically Salses, again in the immediate vicinity of the crash and Perillos. We know this as he made official enquiries with the Spanish government, who most intriguingly did not want to divulge any information on the fort of Salses, this for reasons of “national security”. It is yet another anomaly… of which the region seems to have more than its fair share.
Furthermore, the Chronodrome experience of May 1 involves a satellite called Keo… and the event occurs on the grounds of Opoul-Perillos. Thus, forty years after the crash of the Constellation, all the same elements seem to have combined themselves once again: the launch of a satellite; people “observing” an event, this time the possible arrival of a time capsule; a satellite named Keo, which is a name close to the heart of Malraux. Of course, it can only ever be a coincidence? Or is that divine irony?