the approach control at Plaisance that there was a smoke problem in the aeroplane and that an emergency descent to flight level (FL) 140 had been initiated. The last radio communication was at 00:04 on November 28th 1987. At about 00:07 the aeroplane crashed into the sea. The wreckage, consisting of thousands of fragments, sank to the ocean bottom at depths of the order of 15 000 feet (about 4,5 kilometers), although many of the lighter materials floated away on the currents. Some of the latter items were recovered from the sea, or from the sea-shores where they had been washed up far from the scene of the crash. Months later one such item was found on a beach in Natal, over 2 000 nautical miles away. There are clear indications that a fire developed in the right hand front pallet in the main deck cargo hold, that the fire got out of control and that it eventually led to the crash.
There were no survivors.
The State of Registry, the Republic of South Africa (RSA), was notified of the accident by Plaisance Air Traffic Control (Mauritius) at 01:15 on November 28th 1987.
As the accident had occurred outside the territory of any State, the investigation of the accident was conducted by the State of Registry in terms of paragraph 5.3 of Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. This was agreed to by the Government of Mauritius.
