Site near Taipei Crew 6 Survivors 0 Date 22 August 1981 Total fatalities 110 (all) | Passengers 104 Injuries (non-fatal) 0 Aircraft type Boeing 737-222 Operator Far Eastern Air Transport Survivor 0 | |
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Summary Uncontrolled decompression Destination Kaohsiung International Airport Similar Far Eastern Air Transport, Somali Airlines Flight 40, China Airlines Flight 676, Civil Air Transport Flight 106, Aeroflot Flight 498 | ||
Far East Air Transport Flight 103 (callsign FAR EASTERN 103), a Boeing 737-222, registration B-2603, departed Taipei Songshan Airport for Kaohsiung on 22 August 1981. The aircraft lost cabin pressure 10 minutes after takeoff and broke apart 4 minutes later.
Although the accident was thought to have been caused by an explosive device, an investigation by the Republic of China Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that severe corrosion led to a pressure hull rupture.
The aircraft had previously lost cabin pressure on 5 August and also when the crew had been returning it to Taipei for repairs earlier on the day of its fatal flight.
The crash occurred 94 miles (151 km) south of Taipei and the wreckage was in an area with the length of 4 miles (6.4 km). A total of 110 passengers and crew including 18 Japanese citizens (including Kuniko Mukōda), and two Americans, died. The accident was the deadliest on Taiwanese soil at the time, and to date is still the second-deadliest behind China Airlines Flight 676.