What happened
On a morning flight originating from Brussels-Melsbroek Airport, an aircraft was en route to Gütersloh Airbase in Germany. As the plane approached the Augustdorf region, the captain initiated a descent to 2,500 feet for the purpose of observing the Senne military training camp, located approximately 7 km south of Augustdorf. At the time of the flight, British military forces were conducting local training operations involving mortar fire.
While operating at this low altitude, the aircraft was hit by multiple mortar shells, which ignited a fire on board. During the emergency, nine passengers successfully exited the aircraft via parachute and were subsequently rescued without injury. However, the plane became uncontrollable and entered a steep dive, impacting the ground in flames. The accident resulted in 38 fatalities among the remaining occupants.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the crew did not adhere to the established minimum safe altitude of 10,000 feet designated for the area during the scheduled military exercises. It was noted that the British troops had previously demarcated this airspace to avoid such incidents during mortar shell fire. The primary factor in the disaster was the failure to maintain the required flight altitude over the active training zone.