What happened
A special mission flight departing from Frankfurt-Main experienced a catastrophic mid-air event while cruising at 18,000 feet. The aircraft, which was transporting a crew of four and 22 passengers along with a large shipment of sensitive US Army documentation, contacted air traffic control on two separate occasions to declare an emergency. During this period, the flight crew intended to divert the mission to Munich-Riem Airport.
Shortly after these communications, the aircraft underwent an explosion and descended into a field in the vicinity of Markt Schwaben, approximately 17 km south of Munich Airport. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and caused the deaths of all 26 occupants. The accident resulted in a massive dispersal of debris and cargo documents across an area exceeding 65 km2.
Findings
Investigations into the disaster suggest that the primary factor was a major structural failure occurring during flight. It is suspected that undetected fatigue cracks may have compromised the integrity of the airframe following its most recent maintenance inspection. Additionally, investigators did not dismiss the possibility that an uncontrolled fire originated within the cargo hold.