China Airlines Flight 204
 B-180, the aircraft involved in the accident, on its delivery flight in 1986 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 26 October 1989 |
| Summary | Takeoff from wrong runway, wrong turn after airborne due to pilot error |
| Site | Chiashan mountain range near Hualien Airport, Taiwan |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-209 |
| Operator | China Airlines |
| Registration | B-180 |
| Flight origin | Hualien Airport |
| Destination | Taoyuan International Airport |
| Passengers | 47 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 54 |
| Survivors | 0 |
China Airlines Flight 204 was a Boeing 737-200 that crashed into a mountain after takeoff from Hualien Airport, Taiwan, on 26 October 1989. The crash killed all 54 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.
Aircraft[]
The aircraft that crashed was a Boeing 737-209, registration B-180, having first flown on 3 December 1986 and was delivered to the airline 2 weeks later.[1]
Accident[]
Flight 204 took off from Hualien Airport on a short haul domestic flight to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now known as Taoyuan International Airport since 2004) on the island of Taiwan.[2] On board the Boeing 737 were 47 passengers and 7 crew. Ten minutes after take-off the aircraft, having reached a height of 7,000 ft (2,100 m) collided with a mountain, part of the Chiashan mountain range, 5.5 km (3.4 mi) north of the airport. All 54 passengers and crew on board were killed.[1][3][4]
Cause[]
The major cause of the crash was pilot error, with the crew, consisting of an experienced pilot (15 years with China Airlines) and a novice co-pilot, taking off from the wrong runway, compounded by ground control, who failed to spot the error. The aircraft then flew the climbout procedure for the runway that the flight was planned to use, resulting in the aircraft making a left turn towards the mountains rather than a right turn towards the sea.[3][5]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ a b "Aircraft accident Boeing 737-209 B-180 Hualien Airport (HUN)". Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "Database Thursday 26 October 1989". Aviation Safety Network by Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Crashed 737 'turned wrong way'". Flight International, 4 November 1989, p. 8.
- ^ "Accident Details". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
- ^ "CVR reveals pilot error". Flight International, 6–12 December 1989, p. 8.
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- Aviation accidents and incidents in 1989
- Aviation accidents and incidents in Taiwan
- Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original
- Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
- Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
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