What happened
During a flight originating from New York-JFK, the crew initiated a descent toward runway 06R at Los Angeles International Airport. While performing the approach over the ocean, the aircraft encountered localized patches of fog that obscured the crew's visual contact with the ground. As the aircraft continued its approach, it made contact with the runway with the nose gear first, experiencing a vertical load of 4.6 g.
This impact caused the nose gear to collapse toward the rear of the aircraft. The friction from the burning tires in the nose wheel well ignited a fire, which was further fueled by hydraulic fluid leaking from ruptured steering lines. During the emergency evacuation, eight passengers sustained either minor or serious injuries. Although firefighting teams responded, they could not contain the blaze within the nose wheel well; the fire eventually spread to the fuselage, resulting in the destruction of both the passenger cabin and the cockpit.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary reason for the accident was the decision to continue a visual approach after the flight crew lost external visual references due to encountering low clouds and fog. While the general weather conditions in the Los Angeles area were reported as clear, visibility at the approach end of runway 06R was significantly lower than the forecasts provided by the National Weather Service due to the presence of ground fog.