What happened
On the night of the accident, an aircraft flying from Gatwick, England, was en route to Perpignan, France. After passing over Toulouse at approximately 00:30 GMT while maintaining flight level 75, the flight continued toward its destination. The aircraft was scheduled to arrive at the aerodrome around 01:12.
During a period of intermittent wind and rain, witnesses in the Prades region observed the plane shortly before 01:00. At approximately 01:00, the aircraft collided with the side of a mountain within the Canigou Massif while maintaining level flight. A Search and Rescue Constellation located the wreckage at an altitude of 2,200 meters at 13:50 that same day. The impact and subsequent fire left the wreckage completely destroyed. There were 34 fatalities among the 31 passengers and 3 crew members on board.
Findings
Investigations into the crash concluded that a navigational error was responsible for the collision with the terrain, though investigators could not identify the specific reason for the error due to insufficient evidence.