Investigation Summary
The aircraft was on a multi-leg journey from Paris to Casablanca with a stopover in Tangier. During the approach to runway 28 at Tangier-Boukhalef Airport, the crew faced challenging conditions including darkness, heavy rain, and strong winds. The investigation revealed that the procedural turn was initiated significantly further east than specified on the ILS Instrument Approach Chart. This was attributed to a strong positive wind component and the fact that the aircraft did not fly directly over the outer marker, preventing the pilot from timing the approach correctly. Once outside the protection zones, the Caravelle was subjected to mountain waves and severe turbulence. Flight recorder data indicated a sudden 23-knot deceleration and a rapid 400-foot altitude loss in the final five seconds of flight, leading to the impact at approximately 2,300 feet elevation.
Final Conclusions
The accident was classified as Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). The primary cause was a navigation error where the crew extended the outbound leg of the approach too far, placing the aircraft over hazardous terrain. Contributing factors included severe atmospheric conditions, specifically mountain waves and turbulence, which caused a sudden loss of altitude that the crew could not recover from at their current position.
Photographic Evidence (1)
Video Analysis
Sabena - The forgotten Sobelair crash — A documentary overview of the 1973 Royal Air Maroc crash involving a Sobelair Caravelle, detailing the flight's departure from Paris and the difficult recovery efforts in the Moroccan mountains.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
First Officer
Systems & Failure Modes
ILS Instrument Approach Chart
The crew failed to adhere to the distance limits specified on the ILS chart for Runway 28, leading to the late turn.
Outer Marker
The aircraft did not fly over the outer marker, which deprived the crew of a critical timing reference for the approach.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 12 years old and had been subleased from Sobelair to Royal Air Maroc just 12 days before the crash.
- 02It was the deadliest aviation disaster in Moroccan history until the 1975 Agadir air disaster.
- 03The crash site was located approximately 40-42 km east of the Tangier-Boukhalef Airport runway 28 threshold.
- 04Most passengers were Moroccan students and workers returning home for the holidays, along with French tourists.
- 05The crew consisted of six Belgians and one Moroccan flight attendant, totaling seven crew members.