It was bound for Tahiti's Fa'a'ā International Airport on a regular 7-minute service, one of the shortest on earth, scheduled 40 times a day.

[1] Frequent takeoff and landing are believed to have been a major factor in the crash, because of wear and tear on the elevator cables, inspected only at fixed time intervals, regardless of usage.

[1]: 12 [4] Air Moorea flights generally required only a single pilot, and on the day of the crash, Santeurenne was flying the short hop without any other crewmembers.

[1]: 12–13 The oft-traveled Moorea to Tahiti route is one of the shortest in the world – only a 7-minute flight on average[1]: 11  – and is flown 40 times a day.

At 12:01:09, the failing cable snapped completely, and the elevator fell into a permanent, full nose-down deflection, sending the aircraft into a catastrophic dive.

The pilot expressed audible surprise followed by six GPWS warnings sounding together with the engine speed increasing higher than during the take off and climb.

At 12:01:20 (22:01:20 UTC) the aircraft crashed into the sea at the descent rate of about 6,500 feet per minute (2,000 m/min), killing all 20 people on board – 19 passengers and the pilot, Santeurenne.

[1]: 22–29 As the islands are French territory, the accident was investigated by the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA).