What happened
During a scheduled international service traveling from Auckland to Los Angeles via Papeete, an aircraft crashed into the sea near Tahiti. The flight departed from runway 04 at Papeete-Faaa Airport under nighttime conditions. While the aircraft was climbing to an altitude of approximately 300 feet, the pilot-in-command began a left-hand turn in accordance with standard departure protocols.
During this maneuver, the plane entered a left bank and subsequently lost altitude, impacting the ocean roughly 3 km from the coast. The wreckage settled at a depth of approximately 700 meters. Among the 79 occupants on board, only one passenger was successfully evacuated, while the remaining 78 fatalities were recorded. Following the incident, minimal debris was observed floating on the surface, and investigators were unable to recover the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder.
Findings
Because the wreckage and recording devices could not be retrieved, a definitive cause for the accident remains unconfirmed. Investigators noted that spatial disorientation of the pilot-in-command was a possibility, especially given the lack of visual references during the night flight. Additionally, investigators considered whether an instrument malfunction might have occurred, potentially distracting the crew and leading to the loss of control during the initial climb phase.