Incident Overview
An aircraft approaching Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport at night was directed by air traffic control to alter its approach path and descend to runway 28 after runway 27 was closed. The closure occurred because a Korean Air Boeing 747 had made contact with the runway surface with its number one engine. The crew was approximately 13 kilometers from the threshold of runway 27 when the instruction was given.
Sequence of Events
While executing a left turn to align with the new runway, the aircraft lost altitude and struck the ground in a field located 1,800 meters short of the runway. At the time, visibility was limited to between 700 and 1,400 meters due to light fog and rain. The copilot was flying the aircraft. Investigators noted that the crew may have been disturbed by the late runway change.
Data from the flight data recorder (FDR) indicated that 100 seconds before recording ceased, the aircraft was on a descent heading of 265 degrees at an altitude of 1,600 feet and a speed of 170 knots, with both engine torques at 20 percent. Twenty seconds later, engine torque on both engines dropped to zero, and the autopilot disengaged. At this point, the flaps were retracted. The aircraft's sink rate increased, and it entered a nose-up attitude while its speed decreased. The aircraft contacted the ground at 110 knots and was destroyed.
Aftermath
Four passengers were killed, and 19 other occupants sustained injuries. The aircraft was completely destroyed.