What happened
During a flight originating from Lisbon, the crew began their descent toward Havana-Jose Martí-Rancho Boyeros Airport. While cleared for an approach to runway 05, the aircraft encountered heavy fog that significantly reduced visibility. The crew initiated the final approach sequence much later than prescribed by standard procedures; while the approach should have commenced between 14 and 15 km from the threshold, the turn onto the runway heading occurred only 9 km away.
Despite being unable to visually identify the runway, the captain proceeded with the descent below the established decision height. As the aircraft reached a distance of 1,820 meters from the runway threshold, it was traveling at approximately 280 km/h at an altitude of roughly 23 to 25 meters. At this stage, the plane struck power cables, which caused the elevators to separate and tore the flaps from the right wing. Following this impact, the aircraft hit 22 palm trees before crashing into flames 1,270 meters short of the runway threshold and 121 meters to the right of the extended centerline.
The accident resulted in 67 fatalities and left two passengers seriously injured.
Findings
The investigation concluded that the crash was driven by multiple errors made by the flight crew regarding the approach configuration. A primary factor was the failure to recognize an incorrect altimeter setting, which led to a descent below the proper glide path. Additionally, the crew failed to implement corrective measures despite visibility being below minimum requirements and neglected to properly monitor the radio altimeter during the descent.