CAAC Flight 301
| accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 31, 1988 |
| Summary | A combination of pilot error and weather |
| Site | Kowloon Bay near Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong |
| Passengers | 78 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Injuries | 15 |
| Fatalities | 7 |
| Survivors | 82 |
| Aircraft type | Hawker Siddeley Trident |
| Operator | CAAC |
| Registration | B-2218 |
| Flight origin | Guangzhou Baiyun Airport |
| Destination | Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport |
CAAC Flight 301, a Hawker Siddeley Trident operating a Guangzhou Baiyun Airport to Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport flight, ran off the runway in Hong Kong after clipping approach lights. Six crew members and one passenger perished in the accident. The crash shut down Kai Tak Airport for more than six hours after the accident.[1]
Accident Sequence
While on final approach to Kai Tak Airport, in rain with 450 metre visibility, the right wing of the Hawker Siddeley Trident operating the flight clipped approach lights of Runway 31 and the main landing gear tyres hit the runway promontory, causing the right main landing gear to be ripped from the wing. The aircraft then became airborne and impacted the runway 600 metres further on. The aircraft then veered off the runway to the right and diagonally crossed the grassed runway strip surrounding it. The nose and left main landing gear then collapsed and the aircraft slid over the parallel taxiway and into Kowloon Bay.[2]
Passengers
Of the 89 occupants of the aircraft, 7 died and an additional 15 received injuries. Of the dead, 6 were crew members and 1 was a Hong Kong passenger who succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. The dead crew members were in the front of the aircraft. 3 crew members, all Chinese, received injuries and survived. Of the 12 American passengers, two received injuries. 7 Hong Kong passengers, 2 Taiwanese passengers, and one Frenchman received injuries. One injured passenger was a Chinese-American.[1]
Investigation
"From the limited evidence available it was not possible to positively determine the cause of the accident. The report concludes that the final approach became unstable, and that windshear may have been a contributory factor. The final deviation below the normal approach path was probably due to a sudden reduction and distortion of the visual reference caused by heavy rain."[3]
References
- ^ a b "Chinese plane crashes in Hong Kong harbor." Associated Press at The Day (New London, Connecticut). Thursday September 1, 1988. p. D8. Retrieved from Google News on April 9, 2013.
- ^ "ASN Aircraft Accident Hawker Siddeley Trident B-2218". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ^ CAAC Flight 301 Accident Report
External links
|
||||||||||||
