What happened
A charter flight traveling from Rome to Montreal, which included scheduled stops in Paris, Shannon, and Keflavik, crashed during the night. The aircraft, a four-engine airplane, was cruising at an altitude of 6,000 feet between Grenoble and Gap when it struck the eastern slope of the Grande Tête de l'Obiou, located at an elevation of 2,789 meters.
The flight was transporting 51 Canadian pilgrims returning from a religious pilgrimage in Rome. The aircraft was operated with a total of 58 fatalities, as all passengers and crew members on board perished in the impact. Due to the difficult terrain and heavy snow covering the crash site, search and rescue teams required several hours to reach the wreckage.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the aircraft had drifted significantly from its intended course, positioned approximately 80 km east of its prescribed flight path at the time of the collision. This deviation was caused by strong westerly winds impacting the flight trajectory. Although the crew appeared to recognize the navigational error and attempted to adjust the route, they were unable to prevent the aircraft from striking the mountain.