Status:	Final
Date:	30 JUN 1967
Time:	16:10
Type:	Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III
Operator:	Thai Airways International
Registration:	HS-TGI
C/n / msn:	25
First flight:	1960
Total airframe hrs:	17350
Engines:	2 Rolls Royce 527 Avon
Crew:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Passengers:	Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 73
Total:	Fatalities: 24 / Occupants: 80
Airplane damage:	Written off
Airplane fate:	Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location:	1.2 km (0.8 mls) SE off Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG) (Hong Kong)
Phase:	Approach (APR)
Nature:	International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport:	Taipei-Sung Shan Airport (TSA/RCSS), Taiwan
Destination airport:	Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG/VHHH), Hong Kong
Flightnumber:	601

Narrative:
The aircraft was making an ILS approach to runway 31 during a heavy rainstorm. The captain was busy seeking visual contact with the ground and didn't notice the descend through the minimum altitude of 415 feet. The co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, made an abrupt heading change (while already 80 feet below the glide slope) and was possibly caught by downdraft, causing the aircraft to enter a high rate of descent and a crash into the sea short of the runway.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "a) The pilots did not adhere to the Thai Airways procedure for a 'captain monitored' approach in bad visibility; b) The captain did not monitor the approach adequately; c) The co-pilot mishandled the aircraft after descending below minimum altitude; downdrafts may be contributed to the height loss which resulted from this mishandling."

Sources:
» ICAO Circular 88-AN/74 Volume II (179-200)