Passengers 78 Fatalities 7 Date 31 August 1988 Injuries (nonfatal) 15 Location Hong Kong | Crew 11 Survivors 82 Number of deaths 7 Destination Kai Tak Airport | |
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Summary A combination of pilot error and bad weather Site Kowloon Bay near Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong Operator Civil Aviation Administration of China Similar Civil Aviation Administr, China Southwest Airlines Fl, LOT Flight 703, Uganda Airlines Flight 775, Avianca Flight 410 | ||
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 on August 31, 1988 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.
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Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a British built Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, powered by three Rolls-Royce Spey 512-5W, The first flight was in 1973, Total air frame hours were 14,332, C/n /msn 2159. Registration was B-2218.
Accident sequence
While on final approach to Kai Tak Airport, in rain with 450 metres (1,480 ft) 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. The cockpit was cut off and the rest of the aircraft was intact.
Passengers
Of the 89 occupants of the aircraft, seven died and an additional 15 received injuries. Of the dead, six were crew members and one 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. Seven Hong Kong passengers, two Taiwanese passengers, and one Frenchman received injuries. One injured passenger was a Chinese-American.
Investigation
The Report noted "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."