What happened
During a night approach to Paris-Roissy-CDG Airport, the flight crew received instructions from air traffic control to alter their trajectory and descend toward runway 28. This change was prompted by the recent closure of runway 27, which had become unavailable after a Korean Air B747 experienced an engine strike on the runway surface.
As the aircraft was executing a left turn, it experienced a significant loss of altitude. Flight data indicates that while descending at 1,600 feet with a speed of 170 knots, the engine torques were at 20%. Approximately 80 seconds later, the engine torques dropped to zero, leading to the deactivation of the autopilot. Following this loss of power, the aircraft's sink rate increased and it entered a nose-up attitude as airspeed decreased. The aircraft ultimately struck a field approximately 1,800 meters before the runway threshold at a speed of 110 knots. The impact resulted in four fatalities and 19 injuries. The aircraft was destroyed in the crash.
Findings
At the time of the accident, visibility was limited to between 700 and 1,400 meters due to rain and light fog. It is believed that the late instruction to change runways caused a disturbance to the crew, which was under the command of the copilot. The loss of engine power was a critical factor in the subsequent descent and impact.