What happened
A scheduled flight departing from Cairo-Intl Airport for Tunis-Carthage Airport was conducting a VOR/DME approach to runway 11 when the accident occurred. The aircraft, carrying 56 passengers and six crew members, entered the Tunis FIR at 1450LT. During the descent, the crew notified air traffic control that they had descended from 3,000 feet to 2,100 feet while at a distance of 12 NM.
While operating in limited visibility with winds recorded at 130 degrees and 30 knots, the aircraft was cleared for landing by the tower. During the final approach phase, the aircraft struck a fence situated on a mountain peak and subsequently crashed into hilly terrain approximately 6.6 km from the threshold of runway 11. The accident resulted in 14 fatalities (comprising three crew members and 11 passengers) and 48 injuries.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the primary cause was the crew's failure to properly execute and manage the final approach, specifically failing to adhere to the approach fix due to an early decision to begin the final descent. Several contributing factors were identified, including:
- Adverse weather conditions characterized by low visibility
- Deficiencies in the training of both pilots regarding conventional VOR/DME approaches
- Insufficient flight experience of the crew members on this specific aircraft type