[4][5] An investigation led by France's air accident investigation body, the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA), revealed that the crew of Flight 5672 neglected to select the approach mode on the autopilot.

The Ground Proximity Warning System sounded the alarm,[7] and the aircraft crashed and burst into flames.

The crew had to deviate slightly from the planned route to avoid a storm system near Brest, Guipavas.

At 21:39, air traffic control cleared the crew to descend the aircraft to an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) then later to enter a holding pattern.

At 21:47, approximately 90 seconds before the start of the planned holding pattern, the controller cleared the crew to descend to 2,000 feet (610 m) and to continue the approach.

At 21:49, the crew lowered the flaps to their final landing position and performed the pre-landing checklist.

[2]: 11 At 21:51, while at an altitude of about 500 feet (150 m) during the approach to land, the aircraft's Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) sounded the "sink rate" alarm.

It then hit a concrete wall, causing the right wing and one of the aircraft doors to detach.

A regular flyer of Flight 5672, who was seated at the center of the aircraft, opened the left emergency door.

He realized that there was an intense fire on the left wing and decided to leave by the door.

[4] The evacuation went well as the cabin lighting and the fire enabled the passengers to find the exits in a timely manner.

They later received phone calls from the passengers and crew of Flight 5672 that the aircraft had crashed near the airport.

After the aircraft "captured" the glide slope from above, the Captain armed the approach mode.

Believing that the glide slope had been captured, the crew shifted their attention to the horizontal navigation.

[2]: 85–97 The BEA released its final report and concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error, specifically: A contributing factor was the change of strategy by the controller managing the flight.

The BEA issued 13 recommendations to the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and Brit Air.