What happened
The flight originated in El Paso and proceeded without incident until the crew initiated an approach to Burbank-Hollywood-Lockheed Air Terminal at night. Adverse weather conditions reduced visibility, preventing the pilot from locating the airport. Consequently, the decision was made to divert to Palmdale as the alternate airfield.
Shortly after this decision, while flying at an altitude considered too low for the terrain, the aircraft struck treetops and impacted the slope of a wooded hill in the Verdugo Mountains. The crash site was located approximately four miles northeast of Burbank Airport. All 24 occupants were killed in the accident.
Findings
Investigations indicated that company ground personnel failed to obtain and transmit critical weather information to the pilot, which placed the crew in a disadvantageous position. However, this failure did not absolve the pilot of the responsibility to conduct a safe flight. The board concluded that the accident was unlikely to have occurred if the standard missed-approach procedure had been properly executed. The primary causal factor was the pilot's attempt to apply the standard missed-approach procedure after having already deviated from the required course to a point where it could no longer be applied safely.