Final report on 1999 Hong Kong accident blames pilot error

Airline Industry Information, Feb 4, 2005

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

A final report by the Civil Aviation Department in Hong Kong blames pilot error for an accident in which a China Airlines aircraft flipped while landing in Hong Kong in 1999.

The aircraft turned while landing and burst into flames. Three persons were killed and 50 seriously injured when the MD-11, arriving from Bangkok, descended too fast while trying to land during a tropical storm. The aircraft was carrying about 300 passengers as well as crew.

The report said that the cause of the accident was the failure to stop the high rate of descent, and the aircraft tilted to the right as it landed. The right wing clipped the runway and the fuel tank in the wing was ruptured.

China Airlines has said that the report's conclusion was unacceptable and that there was plenty of factual evidence for the weather being the primary cause of the accident, The Associated Press reported. The airline, based in Taiwan, said that there was not enough time for the pilot to react to changing weather conditions and that the findings showed that both wind direction and wind speed changed dramatically 1.5 seconds before landing.

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