Uni Air Flight 873

Last updated
Uni Air Flight 873
Uni Air Flight 873 (B-17912) after accident3.jpg
The aircraft burning on the runway
Accident
Date24 August 1999 (1999-08-24)
SummaryExplosion and fire caused by combustible materials
Site Hualien Airport, Taiwan
Aircraft
Uni Air B-17912 1998.jpg
B-17912, the aircraft involved in the accident
Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas MD-90
Operator Uni Air
IATA flight No.B7873
ICAO flight No.UIA873
Call signGLORY 873
Registration B-17912
Flight origin Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan
Destination Hualien Airport, Taiwan
Occupants96
Passengers90
Crew6
Fatalities1
Injuries27
Survivors95

Uni Air Flight 873 was a Taiwanese domestic passenger flight between Taipei and Hualien that suffered a fire following an explosion after landing at Hualien Airport, Taiwan, on 24 August 1999, resulting in 27 injuries and one death. [1] [2]

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 registered as B-17912 with serial number 53536. It was manufactured by McDonnell Douglas in 1996 and had logged 4929 airframe hours in 7736 takeoff and landing cycles. It was also powered by two IAE V2525-D5 engines. [3] [4]

Accident

Uni Air Flight 873 departed from Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA) bound for Hualien Airport (HUN). It was carrying 90 passengers and six crew. Shortly after landing, at 12:36 local time, an explosion was heard in the front section of the passenger cabin, followed by smoke and then fire. A passenger was struck by fragments produced by the explosion. The pilot braked immediately, and an emergency passenger evacuation was initiated. After a call for help to the tower by the pilot, fire squads at Hualien Airport and the Air Force Wing rushed to extinguish the fire, which was put out by 13:45 WST.

Aftermath Uni Air Flight 873 (B-17912) after accident4.jpg
Aftermath

While the upper part of the fuselage was completely destroyed, all 96 of the occupants were evacuated. 14 passengers were seriously injured, while another 14 suffered minor injuries from the blast. Most of the injured passengers suffered burns. Ku Jing-chi, a passenger and the brother of former Taiwanese decathlete Ku Chin-shui, had serious injuries and died 47 days after the accident, while another passenger had a miscarriage of her 26-week-old unborn child. [5]

Investigation

The aftermath of Flight 873's cabin Uni Air Flight 873 (B-17912) after accident5.jpg
The aftermath of Flight 873's cabin

Following the accident, the Aviation Safety Council established an Accident Investigation Team. Initial findings revealed that the factors involved in the accident were not solely related to aviation safety. The investigation later revealed that Ku Chin-shui, who was absent from the flight, had given bottles of flammable liquid to his nephew to transport.

An Aviation Safety Council report said it was thought that the bottles were incorrectly sealed and gasoline fumes leaked, which later ignited when a motorbike battery in a nearby overhead luggage compartment was jostled, discharging an electric arc. [5] Ku was initially sentenced to a 10-year prison term, which was shortened to 7+12 years upon appeal. The fifth retrial found him not guilty after the judge said that although Ku had asked his nephew to carry a bottle of bleach in his luggage, the fragments that tested positive for gasoline were not limited to the fragments of the bottle.

The accident is featured in the third episode of Season 20 of Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation and Air Disasters. The episode is titled "Explosive Touchdown". [6]

This incident is featured in Episode 115 of the Rooster Teeth podcast Black Box Down. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Airlines</span> Flag carrier of Republic of China/Taiwan; based in Taoyuan, Taiwan

China Airlines is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan). It is one of Taiwan's two major airlines, along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly – including 91 pure cargo flights – to 102 cities across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. Carrying nearly 20 million passengers and 5700 tons of cargo in 2017, the carrier was the 33rd largest airline in the world in terms of revenue passenger kilometers and 10th largest in terms of freight revenue ton kilometers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonnell Douglas MD-90</span> Single-aisle airliner by McDonnell Douglas

The McDonnell DouglasMD-90 is an American five-abreast single-aisle airliner developed by McDonnell Douglas from its successful model MD-80. The airliner was produced by the developer company until 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was a stretched derivative of the MD-80 and thus part of the DC-9 family. After the more fuel-efficient IAE V2500 high-bypass turbofan was selected, Delta Air Lines became the launch customer on November 14, 1989. The MD-90 first flew on February 22, 1993, and the first delivery was in February 1995 to Delta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonnell Douglas MD-80</span> Jet airliner model, series based on the DC-9

The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second generation of the DC-9 family, originally designated as the DC-9-80 and later stylized as the DC-9 Super 80 . Stretched, enlarged wing and powered by higher bypass Pratt & Whitney JT8D-200 engines, the aircraft program was launched in October 1977. The MD-80 made its first flight on October 18, 1979, and was certified on August 25, 1980. The first airliner was delivered to launch customer Swissair on September 13, 1980, which introduced it into service on October 10, 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Airlines Flight 642</span> August 1999 plane crash in Hong Kong

China Airlines/Mandarin Airlines Flight 642 was a flight that crashed at Hong Kong International Airport on 22 August 1999. It was operating from Bangkok to Taipei with a stopover in Hong Kong.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Northern Airlines Flight 6136</span> 2002 passenger plane crash in Bohai Bay, Liaoning, China

China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (CBF6136/CJ6136) was a Chinese domestic passenger flight from Beijing Capital International Airport to Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport. On 7 May 2002, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 operating the flight crashed into the bay near Dalian shortly after the pilot reported "fire on board", killing all 103 passengers and 9 crew members. The cause of the fire was later determined to be arson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far Eastern Air Transport</span> Defunct airline of Taiwan (1957–2008; 2011–2019)

FAT Taiwan Inc., doing business as Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), was an airline with its head office in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan.

UNI Airways is a Taiwanese regional airline based in Zhongshan, Taipei, Taiwan. With an operation focus on domestic routes, UNI Air is a subsidiary of Evergreen Group, making it a sister airline of the mainline operator EVA Air. It was known as Makung Airlines (馬公航空) until 1996, when EVA Air took a majority share of the airline. In 1998, the airline merged with Great China Airlines (大華航空) and Taiwan Airways (臺灣航空), which EVA Air also had interests in, to form UNI Airways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McDonnell Douglas DC-9</span> Jet airliner, produced 1965-1982

The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast, single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced as the Douglas DC-9 prior to August 1967, after which point the company had merged with McDonnell Aircraft to become McDonnell Douglas. Following the introduction of its first jetliner, the high-capacity DC-8, in 1959, Douglas was interested in producing an aircraft suited to smaller routes. As early as 1958, design studies were conducted; approval for the DC-9, a smaller all-new jetliner, came on April 8, 1963. The DC-9-10 first flew on February 25, 1965, and gained its type certificate on November 23, to enter service with Delta Air Lines on December 8.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mashhad Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport</span> Airport in Mashhad, Iran

Mashhad International Airport is an international airport located in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hualien Airport</span> Commercial airport in Xincheng, Hualien County, Taiwan

Hualien Airport, also referred to as Hualien Chiashan Airport, is a commercial airport located in an 11.5-hectare (28-acre) civilian area of Chiashan Air Force Base in Xincheng, Hualien County, Taiwan. With flights to Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung, it served 235,386 passengers in 2017, making it the tenth-busiest airport in Taiwan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx Express Flight 647</span> 2003 aviation accident in the United States

FedEx Express Flight 647 was a flight between Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California and Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee in the United States, that crashed during landing on December 18, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FedEx Express Flight 14</span> 1997 plane crash in Newark, New Jersey, U.S.

FedEx Express Flight 14 was a scheduled cargo flight from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey, via Malaysia, Taiwan, and Alaska. On July 31, 1997, the aircraft flying this route crashed during landing on its final segment at Newark International Airport, inverting and catching fire, injuring all five people on board.

Ku Chin-shui was an Amis Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter. He medaled for Chinese Taipei at the Asian Athletics Championships six times, winning one gold medal, two silver medals, and three bronze medals. At the 1990 Asian Games, he earned a silver medal in the decathlon. Upon retiring from athletics, he became a physical education teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Air Lines Flight 1086</span> 2015 aviation incident

Delta Air Lines Flight 1086 was a scheduled Delta Air Lines domestic passenger flight between Atlanta and New York's LaGuardia Airport. On March 5, 2015, the McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft veered off the runway shortly after landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The plane ran up the seawall berm and struck the perimeter fence, sliding along it for approximately 940 feet (290 m) before coming to rest with the nose of the aircraft hanging over the berm above Flushing Bay. There were no fatalities, although 29 people suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was seriously damaged and written off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China Airlines Flight 825</span> 1971 airliner bombing

China Airlines Flight 825 was a scheduled China Airlines passenger flight from Taipei's Songshan Airport to Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong. On 20 November 1971, the Sud Aviation SE-210 operating this route disintegrated in midair over the Penghu islands, killing all 25 onboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overseas National Airways Flight 032</span> 1975 DC-10 accident

Overseas National Airways (ONA) Flight 032 was a non-scheduled positioning flight operated by Overseas National Airways with a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF. On November 12, 1975, the flight crew initiated a rejected takeoff after accelerating through a large flock of gulls at John F. Kennedy International Airport, resulting in a runway excursion. Of the 139 aircraft occupants, all survived, while the aircraft was destroyed by an intense post-crash fire. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the probable cause of the accident was bird ingestion into the right-hand engine, causing an uncontained engine failure that ruptured several landing gear tires and disabled the engine's hydraulic system, in turn partially disabling the spoilers and the landing gear brakes. Contributing to the accident was the resultant failure of the affected engine's thrust reverser and the wet runway. The accident aircraft is claimed to be the largest commercial airliner ever destroyed due to a bird strike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RED Air Flight 203</span> 2022 aviation accident in the U.S.

RED Air Flight 203 (L5203/REA203) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami International Airport by RED Air. On June 21, 2022, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 aircraft operating the service suffered a left landing gear collapse and runway excursion, causing the left wing of the aircraft to impact an antenna structure, followed by a subsequent fire on the right side of the airplane. The incident caused four people to be hospitalized with minor injuries.

References

  1. "MD-90-30 cabin explosion and fire during landing roll Hua-Lien, Taiwan" (PDF). Aviation Safety Council. 24 August 2000. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  2. "B7873 Preliminary Report" (PDF). Aviation Safety Council. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  3. "Accident McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 B-17912, Tuesday 24 August 1999". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  4. "Crash of a McDonnell Douglas MD-90-30 in Hualien | Bureau of Aircraft Accidents Archives". www.baaa-acro.com. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  5. 1 2 "Man cleared of 1999 Uni Air accident - Taipei Times". www.taipeitimes.com. 14 May 2011. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  6. Uni Air Flight 873 at IMDb
  7. Sorola, Gustavo; Demarais, Chris (27 April 2023). "Explosion Hits Plane After Landing Safely in Taiwan". Rooster Teeth.