Narrative:
China Airlines flight 676 was destroyed when it stalled and impacted a residential area of Taipei during an attempted go around at Chiang Kai Shek Airport. All 196 on board and seven persons on the ground were killed.
The aircraft, an Airbus A300B4-622R, originated from Denpasar Airport, Indonesia and was bound for Taipei. The flight was cleared for an ILS/DME runway 05L approach to Taipei Chiang Kai Shek Airport in light rain and fog. The aircraft remained high on the approach. At 1,2nm short of the threshold, the altitude was 1515 feet, whereas it should have been at 500 feet at that point.
The flight crew selected full flaps. At 20:04:50 hours local time the autopilot was disconnected. Subsequently, as the aircraft crossed the runway threshold at 1475 feet, go around thrust was applied.
The aircraft rapidly pitched up, reaching +35° as it climbed trough 1723 feet at an airspeed of 134 knots. The gear had just been raised and the flaps set to 20 degrees.
At 20:05:16 the aircraft had reached 2327 feet at a +42.7° pitch. Nine seconds later the speed had fallen to 43 knots as the aircraft stalled. The aircraft nosed down with a 79° left bank. The flight crew was not able to regain control and the aircraft impacted the ground left of the runway. It hit a utility pole and a highway median and then skidded into several houses, surrounded by fish farms, rice paddies, factories and warehouses. A fire erupted.
Visibility at the time of the accident was 2400 feet, the runway 05L RVR (runway visual range) was 3900 feet, 300 feet broken ceiling, 3000 feet overcast.
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The investigation team determined that the the following factors combination caused the accident:
1. during all the descent and the approach, the aircraft was higher than the normal path;
2. the crew coordination between the captain and the first officer was inadequate.
3. during 12 seconds, the crew did not counteract the pitch up tendency due to the thrust increase after go around, and then the reaction of the crew was not sufficient.
As a consequence the pitch up increased until the aircraft stalled."
» Aviation Safety Council Statistics 1996-2005
» Flight International 11-17 March 1998 (9)
accident date: 16-02-1998
type: Airbus A300-622R
registration: B-1814
accident date: 16-02-1998
type: Airbus A300-622R
registration: B-1814
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Monday 16 February 1998 |
| Time: | 20:05 |
| Type: |  Airbus A300B4-622R |
| Operator: | China Airlines |
| Registration: | B-1814 |
| MSN: | 578 |
| First flight: | 1990-10-16 (7 years 4 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 20193 |
| Cycles: | 8800 |
| Engines: | 2 Pratt & Whitney PW4158 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 14 / Occupants: 14 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 182 / Occupants: 182 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 196 / Occupants: 196 |
| Ground casualties: | Fatalities: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Aircraft fate: | Written off (damaged beyond repair) |
| Location: | Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport (TPE) ( Taiwan)
|
| Crash site elevation: | 33 m (108 feet) amsl |
| Phase: | Approach (APR) |
| Nature: | International Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Denpasar-Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport (DPS/WADD), Indonesia |
| Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport (TPE/RCTP), Taiwan | |
| Flightnumber: | CI676 |
China Airlines flight 676 was destroyed when it stalled and impacted a residential area of Taipei during an attempted go around at Chiang Kai Shek Airport. All 196 on board and seven persons on the ground were killed.
The aircraft, an Airbus A300B4-622R, originated from Denpasar Airport, Indonesia and was bound for Taipei. The flight was cleared for an ILS/DME runway 05L approach to Taipei Chiang Kai Shek Airport in light rain and fog. The aircraft remained high on the approach. At 1,2nm short of the threshold, the altitude was 1515 feet, whereas it should have been at 500 feet at that point.
The flight crew selected full flaps. At 20:04:50 hours local time the autopilot was disconnected. Subsequently, as the aircraft crossed the runway threshold at 1475 feet, go around thrust was applied.
The aircraft rapidly pitched up, reaching +35° as it climbed trough 1723 feet at an airspeed of 134 knots. The gear had just been raised and the flaps set to 20 degrees.
At 20:05:16 the aircraft had reached 2327 feet at a +42.7° pitch. Nine seconds later the speed had fallen to 43 knots as the aircraft stalled. The aircraft nosed down with a 79° left bank. The flight crew was not able to regain control and the aircraft impacted the ground left of the runway. It hit a utility pole and a highway median and then skidded into several houses, surrounded by fish farms, rice paddies, factories and warehouses. A fire erupted.
Visibility at the time of the accident was 2400 feet, the runway 05L RVR (runway visual range) was 3900 feet, 300 feet broken ceiling, 3000 feet overcast.
Probable Cause:
PROBABLE CAUSE: "The investigation team determined that the the following factors combination caused the accident:
1. during all the descent and the approach, the aircraft was higher than the normal path;
2. the crew coordination between the captain and the first officer was inadequate.
3. during 12 seconds, the crew did not counteract the pitch up tendency due to the thrust increase after go around, and then the reaction of the crew was not sufficient.
As a consequence the pitch up increased until the aircraft stalled."
Classification:
Loss of control
Sources:
» Aviation Week & Space Technology 16.03.1998 (34-35)» Aviation Safety Council Statistics 1996-2005
» Flight International 11-17 March 1998 (9)
Follow-up / safety actions
With help from Lufthansa, China Airlines re-evaluated and retrained all of its 670 pilots with an intent to make older ex-military pilots better team players.
The airline established a task force to improve flight safety following the crash.
The airline established a task force to improve flight safety following the crash.
Photos
accident date: 16-02-1998
type: Airbus A300-622R
registration: B-1814
accident date: 16-02-1998
type: Airbus A300-622R
registration: B-1814
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Denpasar-Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport to Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport as the crow flies is 3802 km (2376 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from Denpasar-Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport to Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport as the crow flies is 3802 km (2376 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
languages: 
Taiwan
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Airbus A300
- 561 built
- 17th loss
- 7th fatal accident
- 4th worst accident (at the time)
- 5th worst accident (currently)
Taiwan- The worst accident
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