An hour after take-off, at 11:59, the last radio contact with the crew occurred and about one minute later the aircraft crashed. It was flying at approximately when it hit a mist-covered hill () at Wimberry Stones, near to the Chew Valley on Saddleworth Moor near Oldham, from Manchester Airport. Contact was made approximately from the summit. The aircraft broke up and caught fire. Twenty-one passengers and all the crew members died, leaving eight survivors.