China Southern Airlines Flight 3943

China Southern Airlines Flight 3943

The aircraft involved photographed in November 1991, a year prior to the accident at the former Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.
Accident
Date	24 November 1992
Summary	Pilot error; loss of control
Site	Mount Tianma, Tuling Village, Yangdi Township, Yangshuo County, Guilin, Guangxi Province, People's Republic of China 25°03′33″N110°09′21″E / 25.0593°N 110.1559°E / 25.0593; 110.1559
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-3Y0
Operator	China Southern Airlines
IATA flight No.	CZ3943
ICAO flight No.	CSN3943
Call sign	CHINA SOUTHERN 3943
Registration	B-2523
Flight origin	Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Destination	Guilin Qifengling Airport
Occupants	141
Passengers	131
Crew	10
Fatalities	141
Survivors	0

China Southern Airlines Flight 3943 was a China Southern Airlines flight from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou to Guilin Qifengling Airport, Guilin, China on 24 November 1992. It crashed on a mountain while descending to Guilin Airport, killing all 141 people aboard.

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-3Y0, registration B-2523, that was equipped with a twin CFMI CFM56-3B-1 turbofan engine. With serial number 24913, it had its maiden flight on 10 May 1991 and was delivered new to China Southern Airlines on 23 May the same year. ^[1] The airframe was 1 year and 198 days old at the time of the accident, and had logged 4,165 flight hours and 3,153 cycles. ^[2]

Passengers and crew

There were 141 people on board, of whom 131 were passengers. Occupants of the aircraft were from the following nationalities: ^[2]

Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
Canada	1	—	1
Macau	1	—	1
Spain	2	—	2
China	120	8	128
Taiwan	9	—	9
Total	133	8	141

Accident

Flight 3943 departed from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on 07:17 CST (23:17 UTC) and cruised at an altitude of 7,000 metres (23,000 ft). During the descent towards Guilin, at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 m), the captain attempted to level off the plane by raising the nose. The plane's autothrottle was engaged for descent, but the crew did not notice that the number 2 power lever was at idle. This led to an asymmetrical power condition. The airplane rolled to the right, and the crew was unable to regain control. At 07:52 CST (23:52 UTC), the plane crashed at Mount Tianma, 12.5 mi (20.1 km) south of Guilin Qifengling Airport in Yangdi Township, Yangshuo County. ^[3] It was the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-300 at the time, as well as the deadliest on Chinese soil; ^[3] as of June 2025 ^[update] , it is still the second-deadliest accident in both of those categories, behind Flash Airlines Flight 604, ^[4] and China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303, ^[5] respectively. It is also the accident with the highest number of fatalities involving a China Southern Airlines aircraft. ^[6]

Similar accidents

• Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
• TAROM Flight 371
• United Airlines Flight 585
• USAir Flight 427

References

1. "Boeing 737 – MSN 24913 – B-2523". Airfleets.net. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
2. Kristof, Nicholas D. (25 November 1992). "Jet Crashes in China, Killing 141; 5th Serious Accident in 4 Months". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. 
3. Accident descriptionfor B-2523 at the Aviation Safety Network
4. "ASN accident description for SU-ZCF".
5. Accident descriptionfor B-2610 at the Aviation Safety Network
6. "China Southern Airlines accident record". Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved 18 June 2013.

External links

• Accident information at airfleets.net