By the time of the crash, the aircraft was considered airworthy, having logged 8,622 flight hours and 3,136 pressurisation cycles.

[4] Flight 130 departed Paris in the afternoon and climbed to their assigned altitude.

On final approach, the crew noticed the plane was off-course and tried to correct; however at 15:49, the left wingtip and undercarriage struck the ground.

[1][3] Out of the occupants, 14 were West German, 12 were Bulgarian (including the eight crew members), nine were French, four were Syrian, two were Lebanese, one was Brazilian, one was Dutch, one was Argentinian, one was Austrian, one was Finnish, and one was British.

[4] However, other sources state that the investigation concluded that the crew failed to follow published procedures while initiating an ILS approach on runway 16 which led to the Il-18 passing below the minimum descent altitude.