Incident
A flight from Bombay was cruising at 33,000 feet when the crew contacted Dubai control for weather: wind 040° at 8 knots, visibility 10 km, and 5/8 cloud cover at 2,000 feet. Approaching via radial 084, the crew informed ATC at 1949 LT that they were ready to descend, reporting a position of 95 NM from Dubai. The aircraft was actually 162 NM away. Cleared to descend to 4,000 feet, the crew was offered Runway 30 or 12 and chose a direct approach to Runway 30. At night, the captain perceived Fujairah's lights (95 km east) as those of Dubai. Despite difficulty tuning the NDB frequency, the crew continued descent. At 1,600 feet, the aircraft struck a mountain slope. Wreckage lay 92 km east of Dubai Airport. The aircraft disintegrated, killing all 112 occupants: 74 Danish (including six crew), 20 Swedish, 12 Norwegian, four Finnish, and two West German.
Probable Cause
According to the official investigation, weather conditions were not bad, but clouds and reduced nighttime visibility hampered ground recognition. A flight plan with errors and outdated information, or misreading of weather radar settings, or a combination, allowed premature descent, causing the aircraft to approach below minimum altitude. Successive crew errors during the descent also placed the aircraft 33 km north of the Runway 30 approach path. The pilots' visual misidentification of Fujairah for Dubai was a contributing factor.