What happened
During an approach to runway 09 at Samos Airport, an aircraft collided with the side of Mount Kerkis, which reaches an elevation of 1,430 meters. The impact occurred approximately 25 km northwest of the airport. At the time of the accident, the flight was being conducted under visual flight rules (VFR), but the aircraft encountered instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The collision caused the aircraft to disintegrate upon hitting the terrain. There were 34 fatalities among the occupants of the aircraft.
Findings
Investigations into the crash identified several contributing elements to the accident. The crew attempted a VFR approach despite being in IMC conditions, where visibility was significantly reduced by low cloud cover. A primary factor was a navigation error in which the flight path deviated from the intended approach route by 4 nautical miles. Additionally, the weather radar within the cockpit was not operational at the time of the event. During the final moments before impact, the pilot-in-command was executing a steep turn when the aircraft struck the mountain slope.