What happened
On the evening of the accident, an aircraft departed Brussels-Haren Airport at 17:17 local time, operating under an IFR flight plan with a destination of Rome. Throughout the journey, the crew maintained regular radio contact with air traffic control centers in Zurich, Milan, and Rome. The flight appeared to be proceeding normally during these communications. The final transmission from the aircraft was recorded by Rome area control at 19:53 local time.
While flying over the village of Leonessa on a heading of 163°, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt Costone dell'Acquasanta at an altitude of approximately 1,700 meters. The impact occurred after the aircraft had clipped the tops of trees in a nearby wooded area. Search efforts located the wreckage one week after the event. There were 29 fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft.
Findings
Investigations concluded that the crew failed to utilize all available radio aids, which prevented them from identifying and correcting an ongoing drift. The crew operated under the mistaken belief that they had passed over the Viterbo beacon, leading to an incorrect application of the approach procedure for the Rome terminal area. This error was compounded by a failure to verify their actual position against navigational aids.
Several contributing factors were identified during the inquiry:
- A crosswind along the route was stronger than what had been previously forecasted.
- Atmospheric conditions and weather made radio reception in the MF band particularly difficult.
- The aircraft experienced a gradual, unmonitored eastward drift that likely began while traversing the Alpine route, influenced by the jet stream.
- The crew's communications provided no indication of positional uncertainty; specifically, a message sent at 19:51 local time claiming to have passed the Viterbo beacon was inaccurate, as the aircraft was actually more than 60 km east of that point at the time of impact.