What happened
A charter flight departed London-Gatwick Airport at 20:13 local time, carrying 36 passengers and a crew of four. The flight was destined for Perpignan. During the journey, the aircraft was cleared to maintain an altitude of 9,500 feet before receiving instructions from Marseille Control to descend to FL65 and subsequently FL55.
As the aircraft approached its destination, the crew received reports of severe thunderstorm activity and poor weather conditions at Perpignan. Due to the intensity of the storm, the crew notified ground controllers that their radiocompass settings were unusable. While flying in low visibility, the aircraft type struck trees and crashed on the Roc de Planes, located within the Mottes-Rouges massif near the village of Py. The impact caused the plane to disintegrate, and all 40 occupants were killed. The wreckage was discovered at an altitude of 1,810 meters, approximately 48 km southwest of Perpignan-Rivesaltes Airport.
Findings
Investigations determined that the accident resulted from a navigation error committed by the flying crew. The investigation highlighted several errors in judgment, noting that the crew failed to provide precise position reports between Limoges and Perpignan and did not correctly utilize the VOR stations at Toulouse and Istres. Consequently, the aircraft continued southward at 6,000 feet while the crew was unaware of their actual location. Additionally, investigators noted that fatigue may have been a contributing factor to the incident.