What happened
During a flight traveling from Warsaw toward Kraków, the crew encountered deteriorating weather conditions characterized by dense fog. While navigating the route, the crew lost their precise position following the malfunction of the Dabrowa Tarnowska radio beacon. Due to these navigational difficulties and the lack of visibility, the aircraft drifted away from its intended flight path.
While maintaining a cruising speed of 240 km/h at an altitude of 950 meters, the aircraft type struck trees within a snow-covered forest situated on the slope of Mt Cwiklina, which has an elevation of 1,060 meters. The impact resulted in one fatality and 22 injuries among the people on board.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted that the primary factor was navigational errors by the crew compounded by the failure of critical ground-based radio equipment and poor visibility.