Accident
The aircraft was completing a charter flight from Mecca to Tripoli with an intermediate stop in Benghazi, carrying Libyan pilgrims returning home. While descending to Benghazi Airport, air traffic control instructed the crew to divert to Al Bayda because the airport was closed due to foggy conditions.
In the area of Al Bayda, the crew was unable to locate the airport due to fog and completed several circuits before the airplane ran out of fuel. The pilot-in-command attempted an emergency landing in a desert area located a few kilometers from Al Bayda Airport, but the aircraft crashed.
Casualties
Of the occupants, 59 passengers were killed, 46 others were injured, and 60 escaped uninjured.
Cause
The official investigation determined the probable cause to be a forced landing following fuel exhaustion.