What happened
On the morning of the accident, an aircraft departed from Vientiane-Wattay Airport at 09:35 local time, traveling toward its destination in northern Laos. During the arrival phase of the flight, the crew encountered severe weather conditions that significantly reduced visibility.
As the aircraft attempted to locate Luang Prabang, the pilot was unable to identify the airport through the clouds. In an effort to manage the situation, the captain initiated a holding pattern. However, during this maneuver, the aircraft type struck a mountain slope that was obscured by heavy cloud cover. Search teams located the wreckage several hours after the impact. There were 16 fatalities among the occupants of the plane.
Findings
The investigation determined that the accident occurred because the aircraft entered controlled flight into terrain while operating in conditions of limited visibility caused by adverse weather.