Accident Details
On a night flight from Paris-Le Bourget to Tangier, a Caravelle aircraft leased by Sobelair to Royal Air Maroc was descending to Tangier-Boukhalef Airport under marginal weather conditions. The aircraft entered a wrong approach circuit and flew too far to the east. At an altitude of 2,400 feet, it impacted the slope of Mount Mellaline, located 42 km east of the runway 28 threshold. The wreckage was found a day later at an altitude of 750 meters. The aircraft disintegrated and exploded on impact, resulting in the deaths of all 106 occupants.
Investigation and Probable Cause
The official investigation examined the final minutes of the flight and the flight path. It found that the procedural turn was initiated beyond the distance specified on the ILS Instrument Approach Chart for Runway 28 at Tangier Airport. This was attributed to the significant strength of the positive wind component at that distance, as well as the fact that the aircraft did not fly over the outer marker and that the pilot was unable to time the approach correctly. Consequently, the aircraft was outside the protection zones associated with the intermediate approach and entered over mountainous terrain. There, it encountered various atmospheric conditions characterized by severe turbulence, a significant wind gradient, and likely gusts. Analysis of the flight recorder showed that during the final seconds, the aircraft experienced a deceleration of 23 knots in five seconds, followed by a loss of altitude of approximately 400 feet. This loss of altitude, combined with the aforementioned conditions, resulted in the aircraft crashing head-on into the side of Pic '792' at an altitude of approximately 750 meters and a distance of 23 NM from Runway 28.