Hemet Exploration

The aircraft was carrying three operators and three crew members on a local aerial photography mission on behalf of the Shell Oil Group. For such mission, the aircraft was equipped with a 30 meters long cable fixed to the tail and supporting a sensor system where various measurement equipment were fixed. En route, the crew was contacted by ATC to change heading when the airplane was hit by two surface-to-air SAM-7 missiles. One missile struck the tail and the second struck the left engine that exploded. Out of control, the aircraft entered a dive and crashed, killing all six occupants.

Radar and radio contacts were lost while the aircraft was flying over the Mediterranean Sea on a flight from Oran to Toulouse. SAR operations were initiated but eventually abandoned six days later as no trace of the aircraft nor the four occupants was found. It is believed that the aircraft crashed into the sea south of Balearic Islands.

After landing on a remote airfield, the twin engine airplane struck an irregularities on the ground and came to rest with its right engine partially torn off. Both occupants escaped uninjured while the airplane was abandoned on site.