Korean Air Flight 803

Last updated

Korean Air Flight 803
Korean Air DC-10-30 HL7328.jpg
HL7328, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date27 July 1989 (1989-07-27)
Summary Pilot error in low visibility leading to controlled flight into terrain
SiteNear Tripoli International Airport, Tripoli, Libya
Total fatalities79
Aircraft
Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
Operator Korean Air
IATA flight No.KE803
ICAO flight No.KAL803
Call signKOREAN AIR 803
Registration HL7328
Flight origin Gimpo International Airport, Seoul, South Korea
1st stopover Don Mueang International Airport, Bangkok, Thailand
Last stopover King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Destination Tripoli International Airport, Tripoli, Libya
Occupants199
Passengers181
Crew18
Fatalities75
Survivors124
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities4

On 27 July 1989, Korean Air Flight 803, a DC-10 crashed while attempting to land in Tripoli, Libya. 75 of the 199 passengers and crew on board plus 4 people on the ground were killed in the accident. The accident was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Libya at the time. [1]

Contents

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 (serial number 47887 and line number 125). It was built in 1973 and first flew on 17 September. During the test period, the aircraft was registered as N54634. The aircraft was powered by three General Electric CF6-50C2 turbofan engines. In 1974, the aircraft was sold to Air Siam, and it was registered in Thailand as HS-VGE on 25 November. In 1977, the airliner was sold to Korean Air (which at the time was known as Korean Air Lines), and received the Korean registration HL7328 on 25 February 1977.[ citation needed ] The aircraft had 49,025 flight hours and 11,440 take-off and landing cycles. [2] The captain was Kim Ho-jung (54), the first officer was Choi Jae-hong (57), and the flight engineer was Hyun Gyu-hwan (53). [3]

Accident

Flight 803 was a scheduled international passenger service from Seoul, South Korea to Tripoli, Libya with intermediate stops in Bangkok, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There were a total of 18 crew members and 181 passengers, mostly South Korean workers, who were returning to Libya for construction work after their home leave. [4] The weather at the time of the accident consisted of heavy fog and visibility was between 100 and 800 feet (30 and 244 m). [1] Nevertheless, in such circumstances, the flight crew decided to continue the approach. On approach to runway 27, the DC-10 dropped below the glide path, then at 7:05 (according to other data - 7:30), it crashed into two buildings, broke into three sections, and burst into flames. [5] The accident site was in an orchard 1.5 miles (2.4 km; 1.3 nmi) short of runway 27. 75 people (72 passengers and 3 crew members) died in the accident, in addition to four people on the ground. [1] [6] [7]

There were 189 South Koreans, seven Libyans, and three Japanese nationals on board Flight 803. [7] [8] Daewoo and Donga had multiple South Korean employees on board. [9]

NationalityPassengersCrewTotal
South Korea17118189
Libya707
Japan303
Total18118199

Investigation

At the direction of the Libyan authorities, French specialists were invited to investigate the causes of the accident. The flight recorders were sent to France. American representatives, including the aircraft manufacturer, were not allowed into Libya at the time. [10]

Aftermath

After the accident, Flight 803's captain Kim Ho-jung was quoted as saying - "The airport was shrouded in dense fog and visibility was poor when I approached. I lost contact with the control tower for 15 minutes before the crash." [7] Libya's official news agency JANA reported that a Soviet airliner one hour before Flight 803 had rerouted to Malta rather than land in the fog. [9] Also, the instrument landing system at Tripoli International Airport wasn't working at the time of the accident. [11]

A Libyan court found the captain and first officer guilty of neglect in December 1990. They were given prison sentences of two years and eighteen months respectively. In the case of the first officer the sentence was suspended. [12]

Cause

The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error in attempting a descent below decision height without the runway environment in sight. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonnell Douglas DC-10</span> Wide–body three–engine airliner

The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long-range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 1971, by American Airlines.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air China Flight 129</span> 2002 aviation accident in South Korea

Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On 15 April 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing 767-200ER, crashed into a hill near the airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitiga International Airport</span> International airport serving Tripoli, Libya

Mitiga International Airport is an airport that serves Tripoli, Libya, located about 8 kilometres east of Tripoli's city centre. Since 2018 it has been the sole international airport serving Tripoli following the closure of Tripoli International Airport after it was severely damaged in the second Libyan civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tripoli International Airport</span> Former airport in Libya

Tripoli International Airport is a closed international airport built to serve Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. The airport is located in the area of Qasr bin Ghashir, 24 kilometres (15 mi) from central Tripoli. It used to be the hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, and Buraq Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benina International Airport</span> Airport in Benina, Libya

Benina International Airport serves Benghazi, Libya. It is located in the borough of Benina, 19 kilometres (12 mi) east of Benghazi, from which it takes its name. The airport is operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya and is the second largest in the country after Tripoli International Airport. Benina International is also the secondary hub of both Buraq Air and flag carrier, Libyan Airlines. As of 17 July 2014 all flights to the airport were suspended due to fighting in the area.

The article describes accidents and incidents on Korean Air and its predecessor companies Korean National Airlines and Korean Air Lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asiana Airlines Flight 733</span> 1993 plane crash in South Korea

Asiana Airlines Flight 733 was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport to Mokpo Airport, South Korea. The Boeing 737 crashed on 26 July 1993, in the Hwawon area of Haenam County, South Jeolla Province. The cause of the accident was determined to be pilot error leading to controlled flight into terrain. 68 of the 116 passengers and crew on board were killed. The crash resulted in the first hull loss of a 737-500.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771</span> 2010 passenger plane crash in Tripoli, Libya

Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 was a scheduled international Afriqiyah Airways passenger flight that crashed on 12 May 2010 at about 06:01 local time on approach to Tripoli International Airport, about 1,200 metres short of the runway. Of the 104 passengers and crew on board, 103 were killed. The sole survivor was a 9-year-old Dutch boy. The crash of Flight 771 was the third hull-loss of an Airbus A330 involving fatalities, occurring eleven months after the crash of Air France Flight 447.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean Air Lines Flight 015</span> 1980 aviation accident

Korean Air Lines Flight 015 was a Boeing 747-200 operating a scheduled passenger flight from Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California, to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea with an intermediate stop in Anchorage, Alaska, that crashed while attempting to land on November 19th, 1980. Of the 226 passengers and crew on board, 15 were killed in the accident. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Anchorage runway collision</span> Aviation accident in 1983

On 23 December 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 084 (KAL084), a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF performing a cargo flight, collided during its takeoff roll with SouthCentral Air Flight 59 (SCA59), a Piper PA-31-350, on runway 06L/24R at Anchorage International Airport, as a result of the KAL084 flight crew becoming disoriented while taxiing in dense fog and attempting to take off on the wrong runway. Both aircraft were destroyed, but no fatalities resulted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean Air Flight 631</span> 2022 aviation accident in the Philippines

Korean Air Flight 631 (KE631/KAL631) was a scheduled passenger flight from Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea to Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Metro Cebu, Philippines. On 23 October 2022, the Airbus A330-300 operating this flight overran the runway while landing in Cebu due to hydraulic failure. Despite what reports described as a "terrifying close call," all passengers and crew members survived without injuries. However, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off as a result of the accident, making it the 14th hull loss of an Airbus A330.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ranter, Harro. "Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 HL7328 Tripoli". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation.
  2. ↑ "Crash of a Douglas DC-10 in Tripoli: 81 killed". Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives. Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "신문박물관 1989년 국내 10대 사건" [Newspaper Museum 1989 Korea's Top Ten Events] (in Korean). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  4. ↑ Kwang-on, Park (27 July 1989). "대한항공 DC-10여객기 리비아 트리폴리공항 상공서 추락[박광온]" [Korean Air DC-10 plane crashed over Libya's Tripoli Airport]. MBC Newsdesk (in Korean). Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ↑ "75 Die in Libya in Korean DC-10 Crash". The New York Times. Associated Press. 28 July 1989. ISSN   0362-4331.
  6. ↑ "LIBYA CRASH". FlightGlobal. Flight International. 12 August 1989. p. 9. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "Korean Jet Crashes In Libya, Killing 82". The Victoria Advocate. Associated Press. pp. 1A, 12A. Retrieved 19 April 2014– via Google News.
  8. ↑ Sun-myeong, Lee (27 July 1989). "대한항공 사고 대책 본부 표정" [Korean Air Accident Countermeasure Headquarters Expression]. MBC Newsdesk (in Korean). Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Korean air crash in Libya". The Prescott Courier . Associated Press. 27 July 1989. p. 2A – via Google News.
  10. ↑ "Libyans bar DC-10 crash team". Flight International. 26 August 1989. p. 9. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Tripoli's landing system not working". The Tuscaloosa News . Associated Press. 29 July 1989. p. 2 – via Google News.
  12. ↑ "Crash role gets pilot two years". The Bulletin . Bend, Oregon. Associated Press. 21 December 1990. p. A4 – via Google News.
  13. ↑ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 07271989". Airdisaster.com. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009. Retrieved 19 April 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.