What happened
On the morning of the accident, a scheduled domestic flight was traveling from Moncton, New Brunswick, toward Torbay, Newfoundland, with several intermediate stops across the Maritimes. After completing a routine 36-minute stopover in Halifax, the aircraft departed runway 33 at 0910 hours, cleared to climb via Victor 312 Airway to an altitude of 13,000 feet. The crew acknowledged instructions to report upon reaching the assigned altitude.
At 0915 hours, the flight transmitted routine progress data to the airline's radio facility in Halifax, noting the departure times and an estimated arrival in Sydney. No mechanical issues or difficulties were reported during this final communication. However, shortly after, at approximately 0922 hours, the aircraft experienced a catastrophic event. Witnesses near the accident site observed an unusual sound coming from an aircraft traveling east; they subsequently saw the tail section and then the nose section detach from the fuselage. The aircraft lost control and crashed within a minute of the separation. The impact resulted in eight fatalities and the total destruction of the aircraft.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the accident was caused by the failure of a corroded area of the aircraft skin located along the bottom centerline, specifically beneath stringer No. 32. This structural compromise led to the disintegration of the fuselage while in flight. While the impact of the corrosion on the airframe's integrity was clear, investigators could not determine the exact origin or specific nature of the corrosion present.