What happened
During the landing phase of the flight, the aircraft's nose gear collapsed as it made contact with the runway. This mechanical failure caused the plane to skid approximately 500 yards along the surface. Following the excursion, a fire broke out, which ultimately consumed the entire airframe.
Despite the intensity of the post-crash flames, all 59 occupants were successfully evacuated from the aircraft without any reported fatalities or injuries.
Findings
Investigations revealed that the accident was triggered by insufficient visibility during the final approach. Specifically, Air Traffic Control failed to inform the pilot regarding a significant decrease in the runway's visual range. Because the captain was unaware of the deteriorating conditions, the aircraft touched down with inadequate visual references. This led to the nose gear making contact with the runway before the main landing gear, creating excessive stress that fractured the nose wheel assembly and caused its structural attachments to fail.