Incident Overview
A commercial aircraft operating an uneventful flight from Ajaccio to Nice-Côte d'Azur Airport experienced a sudden emergency during descent. The pilot transmitted a brief mayday message stating 'fire on board, request urgent landing.' Seconds later, the aircraft entered a dive and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea approximately 40 km off Antibes. Only limited debris were recovered from the water surface. All 95 occupants died in the crash.
Investigation and Possible Causes
The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. At the beginning of the investigation, the board of inquiry reported that several assumptions were not ruled out, including pilot error, a fire in the cockpit, the aircraft being shot down by a surface-to-air missile, or rupture of the hydraulic reservoir. The aircraft disintegrated upon impact with the water surface due to the extreme violence of the crash, occurring at considerable speed and with a high rate of descent.
It is believed that the loss of control was the consequence of a fire that erupted in the rear part of the cabin, by the right lavatory and galley. The pilot may have become incapacitated by fumes, but this was not confirmed. Approximately 50 years after the accident, the French government may release classified documents regarding this tragedy, reinforcing the assumption that the aircraft may have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired by the French Navy, which was completing local exercises in the area at that time. As of 2018, the real cause of this accident remains unclear.