What happened
A scheduled service departing from Ponta Delgada Airport at 09:30 local time was traveling toward Horta with a crew of four and 31 passengers. During the flight, the crew encountered weather conditions characterized by heavy rain, strong southwest winds, turbulence, and scattered cumulonimbi due to an active frontal system. To navigate the weather, the crew modified their original flight plan, choosing a path that involved descending over the channel between São Jorge and Pico islands to intercept the Horta VOR/VFL radial at 250 degrees.
While initially cleared to FL100, the crew received clearance to descend to 5,000 feet, provided they maintained visual contact with Pico Island. During this descent, the aircraft entered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) amidst intense rain and turbulence. Approximately seven minutes after beginning the descent, the aircraft type impacted the northern slope of the 1,067-meter Pico da Esperança on São Jorge Island. The GPWS alarm was reportedly triggered 17 seconds prior to the collision. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, resulting in 35 fatalities.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was a result of controlled flight into terrain because the crew did not maintain the required altitude. Several contributing factors were noted:
- Errors in the navigation configuration by the crew
- Inadequate use of the onboard weather radar
- Failure to monitor radio altimeter settings appropriately
- The absence of a modern, autonomous navigation system capable of providing high-precision positioning
- Reduced visibility caused by adverse weather