[1] The aircraft departed Cairo at 23:35 for Rome with 55 persons aboard, (48 passengers and seven crew members), in good weather.

As Flight 903 was climbing at 10,000 ft (3,000 m), the crew reported that its number three engine was on fire and that they needed a priority return to Cairo.

The airliner went down near the village of Itay El Barud at the rim of the Western Desert, killing all 55 on board.

A United Press International correspondent reported that the plane had smashed into a narrow-gauge railway in hitting the ground and had plowed up a considerable stretch of track.

After an intensive investigation, the probable cause of the crash was cited to be failure of the rear master rod bearing on the number three engine.