Passengers 47 Survivors 0 Registration B-180 Site Taiwan Destination Taipei Songshan Airport Total fatalities 54 (all) | Crew 7 Aircraft type Boeing 737-209 Date 26 October 1989 Injuries (nonfatal) 0 Operator China Airlines | |
Summary Pilot error, CFIT, runway confusion Similar Olympic Aviation Flight 545, United Express Flight 2415, China Airlines Flight 605, China Airlines Flight 334, Cubana de Aviación Flight 9646 | ||
China Airlines Flight (CI204) was a Boeing 737 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.
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Aircraft
The aircraft that crashed was a Boeing 737-200, registration B-180, having first flown on 3 December 1986.
Accident
China Airlines 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.
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.