It was due to fly from Verona, Italy, to Timișoara, Romania, when it crashed shortly after take-off, killing all eight crewmembers and 41 passengers.

At just past 19:30 local time, the aircraft taxied to the end of runway 23; however heavy traffic delayed the departure.

Banking to the right, the airspeed dropped dramatically, and so the pilot applied nose down elevator, causing the speed to increase again.

The pilots were unable to regain control of the plane and it struck the ground right-wing first, breaking up and bursting into flames.

They also determined that spatial disorientation and the plane being overloaded by about 2000 kilograms played key parts in the accident.