The crew reported to Idlewild approach control at 11:22 EST, and was cleared to enter a holding pattern 13 nautical miles southwest of the airport.

The aircraft then again descended, and after another warning by the controller the crew again executed an abrupt climb, reaching the glide slope.

[citation needed] Even though the last and fatal approach was being made with the help of ILS, which allowed the crew to see the optimal path to touchdown, both vertically (glide slope) and horizontally (localizer), the plane was always off this path, suggesting that the crew didn't use this assistance and descended visually, hoping to break out of the clouds and see the runway.

[citation needed] They may have, while descending, broken out of a fog bank and saw that they were only 200 feet from the water, leading them to climb back into the clouds.

[citation needed] The pilots would probably have then descended again to regain visual contact or to stop the ascent, causing them to fall to an even lower altitude than before.

[citation needed] It was suggested by the investigators that during the final descent the crew may have been fooled by the approach lights, though it can't be known.

[2][1]: 9–11 The board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an erratic approach which resulted in a descent to an altitude too low to avoid striking the pier.