What happened
During an arrival from Cairo, the flight crew initiated their approach to Beirut Airport amidst challenging weather conditions characterized by intense rainfall and significant crosswinds. As the aircraft type was on short final approach, a sudden downdraft caused the plane to lose altitude, resulting in an impact with the runway surface.
Following the initial contact, the aircraft bounced into the air, reaching an altitude of approximately 30 feet before descending back onto the runway for a second impact. The force of this second strike caused the right main landing gear to be severed from the airframe. Consequently, the propellers on both engine number three and engine number four made contact with the ground. The loss of control led the plane to veer off the runway, where it eventually came to a stop.
Although the aircraft sustained heavy damage and was declared a total loss, there were no fatalities among the 53 occupants, all of whom were evacuated from the scene without injury.
Findings
Investigations into the accident highlighted two primary errors in flight management. The pilot-in-command failed to implement necessary corrections to mitigate the impact of the downdraft during the final segment of the approach. Additionally, the crew did not respond appropriately to the aircraft's bounce following the first runway contact.