Overview

On 1 December 1981, Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, a Yugoslavian charter operated with a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, struck terrain on Mont San-Pietro on the French island of Corsica and was destroyed, killing all 180 people on board. The accident occurred during the aircraft's instrument approach to an airport on Corsica in poor weather conditions. It was both the first major hull-loss of an MD-80 series aircraft and, at the time, the second-deadliest civil aviation accident to occur on French territory.

Aircraft and flight

The aircraft involved was an MD-81, a member of McDonnell Douglas's MD-80 family of medium-range, narrow-body jetliners popular with European and charter operators in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Flight 1308 was a non-scheduled charter flight carrying holiday passengers to Corsica. The operating airline, Inex-Adria Aviopromet, was then a Yugoslav carrier. The flight encountered instrument meteorological conditions as it approached the destination island.

Accident sequence

During the approach the aircraft descended below the authorized minimum altitude and impacted the slope of Mont San-Pietro. The collision destroyed the airplane and left no survivors. Investigators later reconstructed the final minutes of the flight from radar data and voice communications and found that the aircraft continued a descent in hilly terrain while visibility and cloud ceilings were reduced.

Investigation and probable causes

Official inquiries concluded that the crash was the result of controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) caused by a combination of factors, including miscommunication and misunderstandings between the flight crew and air traffic services, incorrect interpretation of approach clearances, and procedural shortcomings during the approach. Contributing elements included adverse weather and the absence of safeguards that could have prevented descent below safe altitudes.

Aftermath and legacy

The accident prompted recommendations aimed at minimizing the risk of similar accidents: clearer approach procedures, improved crew resource management and phraseology, stricter adherence to published minima, and greater emphasis on situational awareness during instrument approaches. It also added to the aviation community's focus on CFIT prevention and the value of systems that warn pilots of imminent terrain conflicts.

Notable facts

  • The flight was operated by Inex-Adria Aviopromet, a Yugoslav airline at the time.
  • The destination was on the French island of Corsica; the crash site was on Mont San-Pietro near the approach path.
  • It was the first major accident involving the MD-80 family and remained one of France's deadliest aviation disasters, behind Turkish Airlines Flight 981.

The accident of Flight 1308 remains a reference case in discussions of approach discipline, ATC–crew coordination, and the systemic measures that reduce the risk of controlled flight into terrain.