What happened
A government flight transporting the Yemeni Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs was en route from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The flight, operated by a crew of four and carrying four passengers, departed at 1645Z following an IFR flight plan that included stops over Viterbo, Pescara, and Split.
During the flight, air traffic controllers at Ciampino Tower noticed discrepancies in the aircraft's reported arrival time for Viterbo. At 1729Z, the tower informed the pilot that the aircraft was positioned west of its intended track. Shortly after, at 1736Z, the crew of YE-AAB, an unspecified aircraft type, reported being over the Viterbo NDB and provided a revised arrival time for Pescara. At 1738Z, controllers instructed the pilot to climb from 8,500 feet to 13,000 feet and requested a switch from VHF to HF communications. This was the final transmission received from the aircraft.
At roughly 1800Z, the aircraft type crashed into the western slopes of Monte Porretta at an elevation of 2,690 feet. The impact resulted in eight fatalities and the total destruction of the airframe.
Findings
Official investigations identified several contributing factors to the accident, primarily centered on faulty flight conduct. Key issues included:
- Insufficient training of the crew members.
- Improper operation of the radio compass.
- A failure by the crew to utilize available direction-finding facilities.
- Inaccurate time estimates and errors in the original flight plan compilation.
- Language barriers, specifically regarding the crew's limited proficiency in standard Italian and English aviation phraseology.
- Misjudgment of deteriorating weather conditions at the destination.
- Technical limitations, such as the unavailability of the essential Rome ACC control frequency on the aircraft's equipment.
- Navigational deficiencies, including the use of outdated flight guides and the absence of a comprehensive European chart on board.