On August 21, 1994, Royal Air Maroc Flight 630 departed Agadir-Al Massira Airport in Morocco for a routine domestic flight to Casablanca. The aircraft was an ATR 42-312, registration CN-CDT, a relatively young turboprop that had first flown in January 1989 and had been delivered to Royal Air Maroc that March. On board were 40 passengers and four crew members.

The flight was expected to be uneventful. Instead, approximately ten minutes after takeoff, the aircraft suddenly entered a steep dive while climbing through roughly 16,000 feet. It plunged toward the Atlas Mountains and crashed near Douar Izounine, about 32 kilometres north of Agadir. All 44 people aboard were killed. At the time, it was the deadliest accident involving an ATR 42.

The sequence of events began normally. Flight 630 departed Agadir bound for Casablanca with Captain Younes Khayati, 32, in command. Khayati had accumulated about 4,500 hours of flight experience. First Officer Sofia Figuigui was also in the cockpit. The passengers included Moroccan citizens as well as Italians, French, Dutch, Kuwaitis and an American. Among them were a Kuwaiti prince and his wife.

Then, during the climb, something extraordinary happened. The aircraft abruptly transitioned from a normal climb into a steep descent. According to the subsequent investigation, the flight recorder showed that the aircraft’s autopilot had been intentionally disconnected by Captain Khayati. The aircraft was then directed toward the ground.

The cockpit recordings provided another crucial clue. As the aircraft entered its fatal descent, First Officer Figuigui realized that something was seriously wrong and transmitted a distress call. Contemporary reports said her desperate transmission was cut short as she attempted to alert others to the situation. Evidence reviewed by investigators indicated that she tried to intervene but was unable to stop the captain’s actions…