China Airlines Flight 204

China Airlines Flight 204 was a Boeing 737-200 that crashed into a mountain after take off from Hualien Airport, Taiwan, on 26 October 1989. The crash killed all 54 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

China Airlines Flight 204
A Boeing 737-200 similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date26 October 1989
SummaryPilot error, CFIT, runway confusion
SiteChiashan mountain range near Hualien Airport, Taiwan
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-209
OperatorChina Airlines
RegistrationB-180
Flight originHualien Airport
DestinationTaipei Songshan Airport
Passengers47
Crew7
Fatalities54
Survivors0

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 flight to Taipei Sungshan Airport on the island of Taiwan. 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][2][3]

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.[2][4]

References
  1. "Aircraft accident Boeing 737-209 B-180 Hualien Airport (HUN)". Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  2. "Crashed 737 'turned wrong way'". Flight International, 4 November 1989, p. 8.
  3. "Accident Details". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  4. "CVR reveals pilot error". Flight International, 6–12 December 1989, p. 8.


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