What happened
During a flight originating from Nancy-Essey Airport, the crew began their descent toward Paris-Orly Airport. While cleared to descend to 6,000 feet, the aircraft encountered marginal weather conditions characterized by fog and limited visibility. During the final 20 seconds of the flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden pitch-down movement, resulting in an uncontrolled dive at a rate of 16,000 feet per minute. The aircraft struck a metallic high-voltage power line pylon before impacting an open field in Machault, approximately 46 km southeast of its destination. At the moment of impact, the aircraft was traveling at a speed of 630 km/h. The impact caused the aircraft to disintegrate, resulting in 24 fatalities.
Findings
Investigations into the accident revealed that the aircraft was operating under IFR in IMC conditions and encountered icing during the flight. A critical factor identified was a failure within the electrical system while in flight. While investigators could not definitively pinpoint the exact trigger for the loss of control, evidence suggested that this electrical malfunction likely caused the autopilot to disconnect and led to a loss of attitude reference. Because the aircraft was configured out of trim in a nose-down position and lacked an independent standby horizon, the crew had no usable instruments to maintain orientation during the high-speed descent. Additionally, it was noted that the impact speed exceeded the maximum certified speed by 100 km/h. At the time of the accident, there was also a non-crew passenger present in the cockpit.