“Why are you swimming in the water?” 30 years ago on 4 Nov 1993
Runway overrun due to unstable approach caused by pilot error
at Kai Tak Airport, British Hong Kong
Aircraft type Boeing 747-409. Operator China Airlines
IATA flight No. CI605
ICAO flight No. CAL605
Call sign DYNASTY 605
Registration B-165
Flight origin Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, Taipei, Taiwan
Destination Kai Tak Airport, British Hong Kong
Occupants 396
Passengers 374
Crew 22
Fatalities 0
Injuries 23
Survivors 396
The investigation indicated that the accident was caused by the captain’s failure to initiate the mandatory missed approach procedure when he observed the severe airspeed fluctuations, combined with the wind shear and glide slope deviation alerts. The first officer was also found to not have enough experience to handle the aircraft while landing in crosswind conditions. China Airlines was also criticized for not having a clear crosswind landing procedure in their manuals to aid pilots. The investigation recommended that the airline revise its manuals and flight training.
Immediately after the aircraft came to rest in the water, crew members ensured that all passengers donned life jackets and evacuated onto eight of the ten main deck emergency exits. These exits (as on all 747s) are equipped with inflatable evacuation slide/rafts for ditching emergencies. The passenger cabin remained completely above water during the evacuation, although eventually sinking tail-first. Additional damage to the nose and first-class cabin was noted. There were 23 minor injuries among passengers and crew.
The plane was written off as a total hull loss. Since the plane’s vertical stabilizer interfered with the accuracy of the instrument landing system signals for runway 31 – which allowed aircraft to make safe ILS approaches whenever the wind patterns mandated the use of runway 31 (the reciprocal direction of runway 13) – the vertical stabilizer was removed with dynamite shortly after the crash
Source – Airline Secret Exposed Facebook Page
