China Airlines Flight 204

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China Airlines Flight 204
China Airlines B-180 Boeing 737-209.jpg
B-180, the aircraft involved in the accident,1986
Accident
Date26 October 1989 (1989-10-26)
SummaryTakeoff from wrong runway, wrong turn after airborne due to pilot error
SiteChiashan mountain range, 5,5 km (3.4 mls) north off Hualien Airport, Taiwan
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 737-209
Operator China Airlines
IATA flight No.CI204
ICAO flight No.CAL204
Call signDYNASTY 204
Registration B-180
Flight origin Hualien Airport
Destination Taoyuan International Airport
Occupants54
Passengers47
Crew7
Fatalities54
Survivors0

China Airlines Flight 204 (CI204/CAL204) was a Boeing 737-200 that crashed into a mountain after takeoff from Hualien Airport, Taiwan on 26 October 1989. The crash killed all 54 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Boeing 737-209, registration B-180, which first flew on 3 December 1986 and was delivered to the airline two weeks later. [1]

Accident

Flight 204 departed Hualien Airport on a short-haul domestic flight to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taoyuan International Airport) on the island of Taiwan [2] with 47 passengers and seven crewmembers aboard. Ten minutes after takeoff, the plane collided with a mountain in the Chiashan range at an altitude of approximately 2,100 metres (6,900 ft), 5.5 km (3.4 mi) north of the airport. All 54 passengers and crewmembers were killed. [1] [3] [4]

Cause

The major cause of the crash was determined to be pilot error, as the experienced pilot (15 years with China Airlines) and a novice copilot departed from the wrong runway, a mistake compounded by ground-control personnel who failed to spot the error. The aircraft then flew the climb-out procedure for the correct runway, and as a result, the aircraft made a left turn toward the mountains rather than a right turn toward the sea. [3] [5]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Aircraft accident Boeing 737-209 B-180 Hualien Airport (HUN)". Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  2. "Database Thursday 26 October 1989". Aviation Safety Network by Flight Safety Foundation . Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Crashed 737 'turned wrong way'". Flight International , 4 November 1989, p. 8.
  4. "Accident Details". planecrashinfo.com. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  5. "CVR reveals pilot error". Flight International, 6–12 December 1989, p. 8.