What happened
While descending toward Brussels, the flight crew encountered dense fog that made continued progress unsafe. They decided to divert to Ostend, where two additional passengers were scheduled to board. Upon reaching the destination, the pilot completed two full circuits around the airfield before initiating the final approach. Visibility remained severely restricted by the weather conditions.
During the final descent, at an altitude of approximately 20 metres, the aircraft's right wing struck the chimney of the Briqueterie Nationale facility in Stene. The impact caused the plane to stall and crash upside down, immediately bursting into flames. All 11 occupants on board were killed in the disaster.
The victims included prominent members of the Hesse-Darmstadt family: Grand Duke Georges-Donatus von Hesse-Darmstadt, his wife Cécile de Grèce, and two of their children, Éléonore and Louis. Other passengers included Alexander von Hesse-Darmstadt, Joachim Riedesel zu Eisenbach, Arthur Martens, and Lina Hahn. The crew consisted of pilot Antoine Lambotte, radio navigator Maurice Courtois, and engineer Ivan Lansmans.
Findings
Official investigations focused on the difficulties of landing in poor visibility. It was noted that ground personnel had fired rockets to assist the pilot in locating the runway. However, an airport employee was ultimately blamed for failing to provide adequate assistance to the pilot during these challenging conditions.