Air China Flight 129

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Air China Flight 129
Boeing 767-2J6-ER, Air China AN0229433.jpg
B-2552, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1991
Accident
Date15 April 2002 (2002-04-15)
Summary Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
Site Mount Dotdae, Gimhae, near Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Gyeongsang, South Korea [1]
35°13′58″N128°55′41″E / 35.2327°N 128.9280°E / 35.2327; 128.9280
Aircraft
Aircraft type Boeing 767-2J6ER
Operator Air China
IATA flight No.CA129
ICAO flight No.CCA129
Call signAIR CHINA 129
Registration B-2552
Flight origin Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China
Destination Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Korea
Occupants166
Passengers155
Crew11
Fatalities129
Injuries37
Survivors37

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 named Mount Dotdae [2] near Gimhae Airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board. [1]

Contents

The Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board published the final report in March 2005 and concluded that the crash was due to pilot error. The final report stated that the crew was inadvertently flying below the minimum safe altitude. Detailed information from the report also revealed that the pilots had been trained to conduct a circling approach in the airline's simulator only for Beijing Capital International Airport and never for a circling approach to Gimhae Airport's runway 18R. Subsequently, the report also blamed the tower controllers at Gimhae Airport for not using the tower BRITE and MSAW systems after losing visual contact with the aircraft. [1] The Civil Aviation Administration of China responded to South Korea's official report by pointing out that Park Junyong, the ATC official during the accident, was not licensed for air traffic control and issued incorrect orders due to his inexperience with the Boeing 767. [3]

The plan to build a new airport in the southeastern region was brought forward because of this accident. [4] [5]

Flight 129 was recorded as the deadliest aviation accident in South Korea until the crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in 2024. [6] [7]

Accident

Seating plan Seatmap of Air China Flight 129 (en).svg
Seating plan

The flight took off at 08:37 local time (00:37 UTC). After nearly two hours in flight, it arrived near Gimhae Airport in light rain and mist.

At 11:16 local time (02:16 UTC), CA129 received clearance to use ILS approach to runway 36L, then circle to runway 18R (the same runway from the opposite direction) from Gimhae tower. During the circling approach [8] to land on runway 18R, the crew exercised poor crew resource management and lost sight of the runway while delaying the base turn and flying outside of the circling approach area, and crashed into a hill named Mt. Dotdae at 11:21 local time (02:21 UTC). The aircraft made initial contact with the terrain when its right wing clipped a tree. It then impacted the ground, and the force of the impact broke the airplane apart. The right wing, empennage, left wing, parts of the fuselage and both engines separated. The plane then burst into flames, engulfing the cockpit and forward fuselage. The aircraft slid and destroyed several trees and 12 graves. Thirty-seven of those on board survived, including the captain. The post-impact fire was so hot that it melted the aluminum and other metals of the fuselage. The front part of the fuselage was completely destroyed, making it difficult for investigators to recognize it. [1]

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Boeing 767-200ER registered in China as B-2552. It was delivered in 1985 and had Boeing Serial Number 23308 and Line Number 127. It was previously operated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and then transferred to Air China after CAAC's split. It had accumulated more than 40,000 hours of flying and about 14,500 flights. [9] [ verification needed ]

Passengers and crew

NationalityPassengersCrewTotal
China191130
South Korea1350135
Uzbekistan101
Total15511166

Among the 155 passengers, 135 were from South Korea, 19 were from China, and one was from Uzbekistan. All 11 of the crew were from China. [10]

The flight deck crew were:

The captain and two of the flight attendants survived. [1] : 1  [12]

Investigation

Crash site of Air China Flight 129.jpg
Wreckage of Air China Flight 129.jpg
Crash site and wreckage of Air China Flight 129

Weather

At Gimhae Airport, the winds come from the north in autumn and winter. However, in spring and summer, the winds come from the south. Visibility is often partially poor due to sea fog, since the southern part of the airport is located close to the sea. Mountainous terrain in the north with southerly winds prevailing may cause a mass of low clouds and fog to occur along the mountainous area north of Runway 18R, with a probability of increased precipitation in the area.

Weather at the time of crash was poor. Satellite imagery retrieved from the Korea Meteorological Administration radar showed that a large, wide area of rain clouds could be seen, starting from Busan to the southeast as far as Japan and moving slowly to the east. The clouds moved very slowly, and heavy clouds were seen lying in the sea south of Gimhae. Gusts of up to 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) were also observed. Rescue squads at the crash site also reported that it was covered with thick fog, with the precipitation heavier than a drizzle. [1]

Airport lighting

Investigators interviewed Captain Wu, who stated that as he observed the lights on the final approach course to Runway 36L, he saw that neither the runway approach lights on the downwind leg nor the circling guidance lights during the circling approach were on. According to the record of the automatic aeronautical light switching system and the testimony from the Gimhae Tower duty chief, the runway, approach lights and circling guidance lights were on at the time of the accident. [1]

Survivors' statements

There were a total of 166 occupants on board, composed of 11 crew members and 155 passengers, including five children with ages ranging from three to nine years old. On the day of the accident, 39 people survived the crash with serious injuries. A passenger died the following day and 16 days later another passenger died. [1]

Based on interviews of the survivors on board Flight 129, it was revealed that the accident occurred suddenly, with loud noise and violent shaking of the aircraft at the point of impact. All items inside the aircraft fell down, seats were thrust forward, and all lights went out, making it dark inside the aircraft. The fire filled the cabin with heavy smoke, which made it difficult to breathe. Most of the passengers briefly lost consciousness during impact, with the feet and legs of some passengers forced under the seats in front of them. A flight attendant who was seated at the aft right position stated that his body was crushed underneath something. He reached to open the door, but could not find the handle. He crawled out of the cabin and evacuated the survivors. The survivors then escaped by walking or crawling through the gaps in the broken fuselage. As they escaped, several large explosions were heard, with pillars of fire shooting up high into the sky. [1]

The pre-flight safety demonstration and announcements were made in Chinese and English, but not in Korean. Some of the 135 Korean passengers stated they did not understand them. The South Korean investigative board recommended that Air China add announcements in Korean to flights to and from South Korea. [1] : 138  [13]

Official report by South Korea

Both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder were retrieved from the crash site and examined by investigators. The FDR data did not show any defect in the aircraft's controls and instruments.

The official accident report by the Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board was released on 4 March 2005. The Probable Cause read:

  1. The flight crew of flight 129 performed the circling approach, not being aware of the weather minima of wide-body aircraft (B767-200) for landing, and in the approach briefing, did not include the missed approach, etc., among the items specified in Air China's operations and training manuals.
  2. The flight crew exercised poor crew resource management and lost situational awareness during the circling approach to runway 18R, which led them to fly outside of the circling approach area, delaying the base turn, contrary to the captain's intention to make a timely base turn.
  3. The flight crew did not execute a missed approach when they lost sight of the runway during the circling approach to runway 18R, which led them to strike high terrain (mountain) near the airport.
  4. When the first officer advised the captain to execute a missed approach, about five seconds before impact, the captain did not react, nor did the first officer initiate the missed approach himself.

Official comments by China

The Civil Aviation Administration of China published a 28-page side-by-side comments on South Korea's official report. [14] Liu Yajun, the head of the Chinese investigation team, pointed out, [15]

  1. An ATC official in the airport, Park Junyong, was not licensed for air traffic control by the South Korean Construction and Transportation Ministry.
  2. Park did not know the properties of the aircraft, a Boeing 767, and mistakenly directed the airliner to descend to 700 feet (213.5 m) instead of directing the airliner to descend to 1,100 (335.5 m), which is the recommended safe altitude for a Boeing 767.
  3. The airport did not inform the crew of the weather conditions at the time. Eight flights before CA129 had been directed to land at other airports because of bad weather.
  4. There were also problems with the radar system and lighting at Gimhae Airport.

Television portrayal

The investigation was covered in "Turning Point", a 2017 episode (S17E03) [16] of Mayday , a Canadian documentary television series about air crashes.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ simplified Chinese :吴新禄; traditional Chinese :吳新祿; pinyin :Wú Xīnlù
  2. ↑ simplified Chinese:高立杰; traditional Chinese:高立傑; pinyin:Gāo Lìjié
  3. ↑ simplified Chinese:侯向宁; traditional Chinese:侯向寧; pinyin:Hóu Xiàngníng

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Official Aircraft Accident Report, Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board, 2005, KAIB/AAR F0201, archived from the original on October 17, 2006, retrieved 2020-01-15
  2. ↑ "Gimhae airport plan faces turbulence". The Korea Times . Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  3. ↑ "Comments on KAIB Aircraft Accident Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-01.
  4. ↑ "130명 목숨 앗아간 김해 비행기추락 사고를 아시나요?…20주기 추모제" [Do you know about the Gimhae plane crash that took 130 lives?… 20th anniversary memorial service]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "What Gadeokdo New Airport Will Look Like in Korea's Southeast Region?". The Chung-ang Harold. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
  6. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 767-2J6ER B-2552 Pusan-Kimhae Airport (PUS)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation . Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  7. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "South Korea air safety profile". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  8. ↑ "재난-김해 비행기 추락" [Disaster - Gimhae Plane Crash]. YTN (in Korean). 12 March 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2025– via Naver.
  9. ↑ "Air China 767 Statement". Boeing. April 14, 2002. Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved June 10, 2009.
  10. ↑ Grace, Francie (April 16, 2002). "Search Continues At Korean Crash Site". CBS News . Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  11. ↑ "황량한 공터에 위령돌탑 하나 외로이원인규명 · 보상 지연 유족들 고통 호소" [A lonely memorial tower in a desolate vacant lot, bereaved families appeal for pain as investigation into cause and compensation are delayed]. OhmyNews (in Korean). 25 October 2002. Retrieved 1 January 2025– via Naver.
  12. ↑ "KAIB/AAR F0201". Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board. p. 1 (15/168). Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  13. ↑ "KAIB/AAR F0201". Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board. p. 138 (152/168). Archived from the original on October 17, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2009.
  14. ↑ "Comments on KAIB Aircraft Accident Report (Draft)" (PDF). CAAC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-01.
  15. ↑ "South Korean Airport Has Responsibility for Air China Crash". Xinhua News Agency. November 27, 2002. Archived from the original on 2015-08-11. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Mayday - Turning Point (Air China Flight 129)". TheTVDB.com. Retrieved 1 January 2025.
External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg "How This Tour Guide's Mistake Saved His Group's Lives". Smithsonian Channel. 2018-10-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13.
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