What happened
A charter flight traveling from Idris Airport in Tripoli was approaching Blackbushe Airport shortly before midnight. The aircraft, carrying a total of 80 people—including 6 crew members and 74 passengers, many of whom were families of military personnel—encountered poor visibility during the arrival phase.
During the landing attempt, the aircraft undershot the runway threshold. The impact began when the plane struck a beech tree located approximately 3,617 feet before the start of the runway. Following this collision, the aircraft swung sharply to the left and continued into a group of pine trees roughly 3,000 feet beyond the initial impact site. Upon crashing into the trees, the wreckage caught fire.
The accident resulted in 7 fatalities, consisting of three crew members who died from the force of the impact and four children who perished due to the subsequent fire.
Findings
Investigations into the crash determined that the pilot was operating under challenging environmental conditions. The primary factor contributing to the accident was that the captain, experiencing levels of fatigue exceeding normal limits, misjudged the aircraft's altitude. While attempting to use airport lights to estimate height, the pilot believed the plane was at a higher elevation than it truly was.