The official report by Sri Lankan authorities determined the probable cause of the crash to be the failure of the crew to conform to approach procedures; however, American and Icelandic authorities claimed faulty equipment at the airport and air traffic control errors as the reasons for the crash.

[2] The aircraft involved in the accident was a Douglas DC-8-63CF named Leifur Eiríksson and registration TF-FLA, operated by Loftleiðir.

[3] At the time of the accident, the aircraft was operating Hajj charter flights for Garuda Indonesian Airways.

[1] Flight 001 departed Jeddah for Surabaya with a stop at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo for refueling and crew rotation.

There were 249 passengers, most of whom were Indonesian Hajj pilgrims from South Kalimantan returning home,[3][4] and 13 Icelandic crew members.

The remaining fuselage was cartwheeled out of control and split up into six pieces, coming to a stop 146 metres (478 ft) past the initial point of impact.

The rescue operation was hampered by the presence of many coconut palm trees, which prevented access to many large pieces of equipment.