The crew of the Avro RJ100 was carrying out a VOR/ DME non-precision approach to runway 28 at Zurich Kloten airport at night in poor visibility and low cloud. The pilot of an aircraft that had just landed from the same approach reported to Kloten on the same frequency that the visibility was worse than advised by air traffic control. The Crossair crew made no cross-check of the DME position upon reaching the minimum descent altitude (2,390ft/730m), and the runway approach lights were not in sight, but the captain had reported that he could see the ground.
The report notes that 11s before impact with rising ground, the captain, who had clearly heard the weather warning, said he could not see anything. By that point the aircraft had already descended well below the descent profile given by its DME distance from Kloten. As the aircraft was in landing configuration with flaps and gear down and the rate of descent was within limits, there was no ground proximity alert until the "minimums" warning 3s before impact. The captain initiated a go-around, but hit tree tops. The report points out that if the aircraft had been equipped with a terrain awareness warning system, the crash would not have happened.
The rising ground where the impact took place was not marked on the Jeppesen charts the crew were using; the report cites this as a factor in the accident.
Source: Flight International
