What happened
On the evening of 24 November 2001, an Avro 146 RJ 100, operating as flight CRX3597 for Crossair, departed from Berlin-Tegel airport for a scheduled service to Zurich. The flight proceeded normally until the aircraft was cleared for a standard VOR/DME approach to runway 28 at Zurich. Prior to this arrival, an Embraer EMB 145 had already landed on the same runway, with the crew noting that weather conditions were near the minimums for the field.
As the aircraft descended toward the minimum descent altitude (MDA) of 2,390 feet, the pilot reported seeing visual contact with the ground and proceeded with the descent. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft struck treetops and crashed into the Geissbühl forest, located approximately 4,050 metres before the threshold of runway 28. The impact caused a post-crash fire.
Out of the passengers and crew on board, there were 24 fatalities and 9 survivors, consisting of seven passengers and two crew members.
Findings
- The aircraft continued its descent after reaching the minimum descent altitude based on the pilot's belief that they had visual ground contact, which led to the impact with terrain.