What happened
During a scheduled flight from Tenerife to Las Palmas, an aircraft carrying 70 intended passengers was performing its descent toward Gando Airport. The flight was part of a mission to transport soldiers to their destination. As the crew began the approach from the western side of the island, they encountered marginal weather conditions characterized by low visibility and heavy cloud cover.
While navigating through these obscured conditions, the four-engine airplane impacted the slope of Mt Hoya del Gamonal. The collision occurred approximately 17 km northwest of Gando Airport. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the airframe. There were no survivors among the 10 fatalities recorded during the accident.
Findings
Investigation into the flight path revealed that the crew began their descent from the west, positioned over the island's landmass. This maneuver deviated from a standard approach that would have followed the northern coastline of the island. The primary factor in the crash was controlled flight into terrain.