China Airlines Flight 676

China Airlines Flight 676 (CAL676, CI676) was a scheduled international passenger flight that crashed into a road and residential area in Tayuan, Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City), near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (present-day Taoyuan International Airport), Taiwan, on the night of Monday, 16 February 1998.

China Airlines Flight 676
B-1814, the aircraft involved in the accident, landing at Kai Tak Airport, just four months before the crash
Accident
Date16 February 1998
SummaryCrashed on approach due to bad weather and pilot error
SiteChiang Kai-Shek Int'l Airport, Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City), Taiwan
25.0915°N 121.2305°E / 25.0915; 121.2305
Total fatalities203
Aircraft
Aircraft typeAirbus A300B4-622R
OperatorChina Airlines
IATA flight No.CI676
ICAO flight No.CAL676
Call signDYNASTY 676
RegistrationB-1814
Flight originNgurah Rai Int'l Airport
Bali, Indonesia
DestinationChiang Kai-Shek Int'l Airport
Taoyuan, Taiwan
Occupants196
Passengers182[1][2]
Crew14[1][2]
Fatalities196[3]
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities7

The Airbus A300 jetliner was en route from Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, Indonesia to Taipei, Taiwan. The weather was inclement with rain and fog when the aircraft approached Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, so the pilot executed a missed approach. After the jet was cleared to land at runway 05L, the autopilot was disengaged, and the pilots then attempted a manual go-around. The jet slowed, pitched up by 40 degrees, rose 1,000 feet (300 m), stalled, and crashed into a residential neighborhood, bursting into flames at local time 4:20 PM. All 196 people on board were killed (including the governor of Taiwan's central bank, Sheu Yuan-dong, his wife, and three central bank officials[4][5]), along with seven people on the ground. Hsu Lu, the manager of the Voice of Taipei radio station, said that one boy was pulled alive from the wreckage and later died.[4][6][7]

It remains the deadliest aviation accident on Taiwanese soil. China Airlines had twelve A300s in its fleet at the time of the accident. It is also the second deadliest accident overall in Taiwan's history, behind China Airlines Flight 611, a Boeing 747-209B[8] which broke up over the Taiwan Strait with 225 fatalities.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A300B4-622R, registration B-1814. It was delivered to China Airlines on 14 December 1990 and was powered by 2x Pratt and Whitney PW4156 engines. The aircraft was 7.3 years old at the time of the accident and had completed 20,193 flight hours.[9][10] Captain Kang Long-Lin, 49, joined China Airlines in 1990, and had 7,226 hours total flight time (2,382 of them on the Airbus A300). First Officer Jiang Der-Sheng, 44, joined China Airlines in 1996, and had 3,550 hours total flight time (304 of them on the Airbus A300). Both pilots were formerly with the Republic of China Air Force.[11] The flight consisted of 175 Taiwanese nationals, along with 5 Americans, one French, and one Indonesian.[4][12][13]

NationalityPassengersCrewGroundTotal
Taiwan175147196
United States5005
France1001
Indonesia1001
Total182147203

Crash

The plane took off from Ngurah Rai Int'l Airport, Bali, Indonesia en route to Chiang Kai-Shek Int'l Airport, Taipei, Taiwan with 182 passengers and 14 crew at 15:27.

The Airbus carried out an Instrument landing system/Distance measuring equipment ILS/DME approach to runway 05L at Taipei Chiang Kai Shek Airport in light rain and fog but came in 1,000 feet (300 m) too high above the glide slope (at 1,515 feet (462 m) and 1.2 nautical miles (1.4 mi; 2.2 km) short of the runway threshold). Go around power was applied 19 seconds later and the landing gear was raised and the flaps set to 20 degrees as the aircraft climbed through 1,700 feet (520 m) in a 35 degrees pitch-up angle.[14][15][16]

Reaching 2,751 feet (839 m) (42.7 degrees pitch-up, 45 knots (52 mph; 83 km/h) speed) the A300 stalled. Control could not be regained as the aircraft fell and smashed into the ground 200 feet (61 m) left off the runway. It then surged forward, hit a utility pole and a highway median and skidded into several houses, surrounded by fish farms, rice paddies, factories and warehouses, and exploded, killing all on board.

Weather was 2,400 feet (730 m) visibility, Runway visual range (RVR) runway 05L of 3,900 feet (1,200 m), 300 feet (91 m) broken ceiling, 3,000 feet (910 m) overcast.[3] According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the last words were from the first officer and were "Pull up, too low!" This was surrounded by the terrain alarm and stall warnings.[17]

Investigation and conclusion

On initial approach to land, the aircraft was more than 300 meters above its normal altitude when it was only six nautical miles away from the airport. Nonetheless it continued the approach. Only when approaching the runway threshold, a go around was initiated. During this time, the pilot had unknowingly disengaged the plane's autopilot but was not aware of it. During the go around he therefore did nothing to actively take control of the plane as he thought the autopilot would initiate the maneuver. For 11 seconds, the plane was under no one's control.[18]

Following a formal investigation that had continued for nearly two years, a final report by a special task force under the Civil Aviation Administration concluded that pilot error was the cause of the crash of Flight 676.[19] The report concludes by criticizing China Airlines for "insufficient training" and "poor management of the resources in the pilot's cabin".[20]

CVR transcript

The cockpit voice recording was leaked on the Internet, but has been removed as it is a property of the Taiwanese government.

The person speaking is listed in bold.[18]

  • TWR - Chiang Kai-shek International Airport control tower
  • F/O - First Officer on board CI676
  • Capt - Captain on board CI676
  • GPWS - Ground proximity warning system (aircraft system)
  • CAM - Cockpit Area Microphone where sound of cockpit environment can be recorded by the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). This includes descriptors of various unidentified sounds picked up by the CAM, including the GPWS.
  • CAL - Unknown. This may be a typo and that CAM was intended.

12:04:26 TWR Clear to land. Wind 360 at 3.

12:04:27 F/O Roger. Clear to land. Dynasty 676.

12:04:32 F/O OK. Glide Slope blue. Localiser green.

12:04:41 Capt It's 1,000 feet higher.

12:04:51 Capt It's coming. 1,000 feet.

12:04:54 Capt OK. Thirty forty.

12:04:55 F/O Thirty forty.

12:05:01 F/O Landing gear.

12:05:02 F/O Three green.

12:05:03 Capt Anti-skid

12:05:03 F/O Normal and...

12:05:05 Capt Slat flap.

12:05:05 F/O Thirty forty.

12:05:06 Capt Spoiler.

12:05:07 CAM [Sound of autopilot disconnect warning]

12:05:08 F/O Armed.

12:05:09 Capt Landing light.

12:05:10 F/O On.

12:05:11 CAM [Sound of triple click (indicates landing capability category change)]

12:05:12 Capt OK. Landing check list complete.

12:05:13 Capt GO lever, go Around.

12:05:14 F/O Go Around, GO lever.

12:05:16 CAM [Sound of triple click]

12:05:18 Capt Positive gears up.

12:05:19 F/O Gears down?

12:05:20 Capt Gear Up!

12:05:20 F/O Gear up.

12:05:22 F/O Heading Select, plus.

12:05:22 F/O Plus ten.

12:05:24 CAM [Sound of gear retraction]

12:05:24 Capt Flaps.

12:05:24 CAM [Sound of selector]

12:05:26 CAM [Sound of continuous repetitive chime (master warning)]

12:05:32 CAM [Sound of altitude alert]

12:05:32 CAM [Sound of selector]

12:05:33 CAM [Sound of whooler (pitch trim movement)]

12:05:34 CAM [Sound of selector]

12:05:36 CAM [Sound of stall warning]

12:05:37 CAL 676 (F/O) Tower, Dynasty.

12:05:38 CAM [Sound of altitude alert]

12:05:40 CAM [Sound of single chime]

12:05:42 Capt Aio.

12:05:43 CAM [Sound of single chime]

12:05:45 Capt Aio.

12:05:44 CAM [Sound of single chime]

12:05:45 TWR Dynasty 676, confirm go around?

12:05:47 CAM [Sound of altitude alert]

12:05:48 CAL 676 (F/O) Confirm go around.

12:05:49 GPWS Terrain.

12:05:50 F/O Pull up, altitude low.

12:05:51 GPWS Whoop, whoop, pull up,

12:05:52 CAM [Sound of autopilot disconnect warning]

12:05:53 GPWS Whoop, whoop, pull up.

12:05:56 GPWS Whoop, whoop, pull up.

12:05:56 CAM [Sound of autopilot disconnect warning]

12:05:57 End of Recording

Flight number retirement

After the accident, China Airlines flight number 676 was retired and changed to flight 772 and was still operated by the Airbus A300 until they were replaced by Airbus A330 aircraft.[21]

The A300 was the fleet of China Airlines until 2006 when it was replaced by the Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

See also

References
  1. "台灣飛安統計 1996-2005" [Taiwan Fei'an Statistics 1996-2005] (PDF). asc.gov.tw (in Chinese). Taiwan: Aviation Safety Council. pp. 63頁. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.:52
  2. "華航失事班機罹難者名單公佈" [List of victims of China Airlines' wrecked flight announced] (in Chinese). Taiwan: Chinese Television System 華視. 16 February 1998. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  3. Ranter, Harro (16 February 1998). "ASN Accident Description (China Airlines 676)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  4. Gargan, Edward A. (17 February 1998). "Over 200 Die as Taiwan Jet Crashes in Bad Weather". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  5. Shen, Deborah (20 February 1998). "CBC governor killed in plane crash". Taiwan Journal. Archived from the original on 25 May 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  6. "Mourners gather to identify victims of Taiwan crash". CNN. Associated Press and Reuters. 17 February 1998. Archived from the original on 7 March 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  7. "205 dead as China Air jet slams into Taiwan neighborhood". CNN. Associated Press and Reuters. 16 February 1998. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  8. Yu, Chen; Wenyi, Li (26 May 2002). "華航空難特別報導 華航「空難」 33年來615人罹難" [China Airlines is difficult to report on China Airlines "air disaster" 615 people in 33 years]. Liberty Times (in Chinese). Taiwan. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  9. "B-1814 China Airlines Airbus A300B4-622R – cn 578". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  10. "China Airlines B-1814 (Airbus A300 - MSN 578)". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  11. Ladkin, Peter M. "The Crash of Flight CI676". 18 March 1998. The RVS Group. RVS-J-98-01. Archived from the original on 16 July 2001. Retrieved 30 May 2007. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  12. Farley, Maggie (17 February 1998). "203 Die in Jet Crash Near Taiwan Airport". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  13. Mufson, Steven (18 February 1998). "CRASH RAINS TERROR ONTO COMMUNITY". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  14. Thomas, Geoffrey; Sparaco, Pierre (23 February 1998). "Retracted Landing Gear Cited in China Airlines Crash". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  15. Thomas, Geoffrey (16 March 1998). "Extreme Pitch-up Noted in Taipei Crash". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  16. "China Airlines Offers Restitution To Families Of Crash Victims". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  17. "China Airlines 676 CVR Transcript". AirDisaster.Com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  18. "Aircraft Accident Investigation Report – China Airlines Airbus A300B4-622R, B-1814 Da-Yuang, Tao-Yuang February 16, 1998". www.aviation-accidents.net. Civil Aeronautics Administration. 18 May 2000. Archived from the original on 9 December 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  19. Thomas, Geoffrey (12 July 1999). "Poor Approach Cited". aviationweek.com. Aviation Week Network. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  20. Yu-hui, Su (4 January 2000). "Official report says CAL crash was caused by pilot". Taipei Times.
  21. "China Airlines (CI) #772". FlightAware. FlightAware. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
External images
Photos of B-1814 at Airliners.net
Picture of the crash


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