What happened
On the evening of the accident, an aircraft departed from Paris-Le Bourget Airport for Northolt. During the descent to Northolt at 4,500 feet, air traffic control notified the crew that dense fog had decreased visibility at their destination to just 50 yards. In response, the pilot elected to divert to London Heathrow, noting that while visibility there was even lower at 40 yards, the airport possessed the necessary Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) capabilities. The pilot also prepared contingency plans to divert to Blackbushe or Manston if the approach to Heathrow proved unsuccessful.
The aircraft proceeded with a GCA, reaching the decision height of 140 feet approximately 400 yards before the runway threshold. Because the runway could not be visually identified, the pilot initiated a go-around procedure by increasing engine power and retracting the landing gear. Shortly after this maneuver, the aircraft made contact with the runway surface and slid for roughly 140 feet. The impact damaged both propellers, leading to an aerodynamic stall. The plane subsequently crashed approximately 3,000 feet beyond the runway threshold, where the starboard wing was severed and the fuselage ignited near a storage area for drain pipes.
Due to the severity of the fog, emergency responders struggled to locate the wreckage, eventually finding the burning site 16 to 17 minutes later. The accident resulted in 28 fatalities out of the 30 people on board. The only two survivors were a passenger and a flight attendant, both of whom were seated toward the rear of the aircraft.
Findings
While an official certainty could not be reached, investigators suggested that the pilot may have descended below the established break-off point. It is believed the aircraft entered fog at an altitude of 100 feet or less, which suddenly obscured the runway lights, and that the decision to execute an overshoot procedure was made too late to prevent the impact.