Date:	Sunday 29 December 1991
Time:	15:05
Type:	Boeing 747-2R7F
Owner/operator:	China Airlines
Registration:	B-198
MSN:	22390/482
Year of manufacture:	1980
Total airframe hrs:	45570 hours
Cycles:	10216 flights
Engine model:	P&W JT9D-7R4G2
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed, written off
Category:	Accident
Location:	near Wanli -   Taiwan
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Cargo
Departure airport:	Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek International Airport (TPE/RCTP)
Destination airport:	Anchorage International Airport, AK (ANC/PANC)
Confidence Rating:	Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities

Narrative:
Four minutes after takeoff (at 5200 feet), during a high-speed climbout, the flight crew reported no. 2 engine problems. Taipei ATC then gave the flight radar vectors to turn left for a return to the airport. One minute and 45 seconds later the crew reported unable to turn left, so ATC gave permission to turn right. This was the last contact with the flight. Control was lost and the aircraft crashed into a hillside, right wing-first, at an altitude of 700 feet.
It appeared that the no. 3 engine had separated from the wing. The engine struck the no. 4 engine, which separated also. The aircraft had accumulated 45868 hours, of which 74 hours since the last A-check maintenance on December 21, and 9094 cycles. Load factor of this flight was 90%.

Probable Cause Statement
The accident was caused by the in-flight separation of the No. 3 engine pylon as a result of fatigue cracking initiated at an improper weld repair performed during maintenance.
The subsequent collision of the detached No. 3 engine with the No. 4 engine caused both engines to separate from the right wing, leading to immediate and unrecoverable loss of control of the aircraft.

Contributing factors included:
• Inadequate maintenance engineering oversight by China Airlines.
• Deficient regulatory surveillance by the Civil Aeronautics Administration.
• Lack of manufacturer awareness by the operator regarding limitations of welded structural repairs.

Aircraft Accident Report 92-11 El Al Flight 1862 ... / Netherlands Aviation Safety Board (p.32)
Aviation Week & Space Technology 6.1.92 (23)
Flight International 8-14 January 92 (11)
Scramble 152

Other occurrences involving this aircraft


3 May 1986

B-198

China Airlines

0

Guangzhou-Baiyun Airport (CAN)

non

photo (c) Frank Schaefer; Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG); October 1991

photo (c) Werner Fischdick; Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG); 27 March 1991

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Oct-2025 07:56	ASN	Updated [Narrative, ]