What happened
A non-scheduled flight traveling from Bombay to Cairo, with an intended destination of Nicosia, was operating under challenging weather conditions. The aircraft, registration HB-ITB, a Britannia, had departed Bombay earlier that day and was scheduled to arrive in Cairo by 2212 hours GMT. While the flight plan listed Beirut as the alternate airport, the crew instead opted to approach Nicosia.
During the approach phase, communication with Nicosia tower was initially difficult due to distance and altitude. The crew received updates regarding deteriorating weather conditions at the airport throughout the late evening. At 2-306 hours, the aircraft passed over the airfield and was cleared for a right-hand circuit. Upon reaching the threshold of runway 32, the pilot determined the aircraft was slightly high and elected to overshoot the runway. After informing the tower, the pilot requested and was granted permission to perform a low-altitude left-hand circuit.
While executing this second attempt at landing via a low circuit, the aircraft struck the ground approximately 3.5 km short of the runway threshold at 0113 local time. The impact and subsequent fire caused the total destruction of the Britannia. The accident resulted in 127 fatalities, including 126 deaths, while one crew member and three passengers sustained serious injuries.
Findings
Investigation into the crash revealed several critical contributing factors:
- The primary cause was an attempt to execute an approach at an altitude insufficient to clear rising terrain.
- It could not be determined why the pilot chose to divert to Nicosia when much better weather conditions were available at the planned alternate in Beirut.
- The pilot's flight experience on this specific aircraft type was limited, and his licensing status was noted as invalid for the operation.
- The crew had exceeded legal flight time limitations by several hours at the time of the impact.
- There was no evidence of mechanical failure or improper loading prior to the crash, and all radio communications with the tower remained normal until the accident occurred.