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| Date: | Tuesday 27 September 1977 |
| Time: | 18:43 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62H |
| Owner/operator: | Japan Air Lines - JAL |
| Registration: | JA8051 |
| MSN: | 46152/550 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1971 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 19225 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W JT3D |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 34 / Occupants: 79 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 6,5 km NW of Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL) -
 Malaysia
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport (HKG/VHHH) |
| Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL/WMKK) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Japan Air Lines Flight 715, a Douglas DC-8, struck a 300 feet hill, 4 miles short of the runway while on a VOR approach to runway 15 at Kuala Lumpur Subang International Airport (KUL), Malaysia.
The aircraft had descended below MDA of 750 feet.
The accident was caused by the captain descending below minimum descent altitude without having the runway in sight, and continuing the descent until the aircraft struck terrain four nautical miles short of the runway threshold.
A subsidiary contributory factor was insufficient monitoring of the aircraft's flight path by the captain under the adverse weather conditions with several aircraft in the holding pattern awaiting their turn for approach and, more importantly, the co-pilot's failure to challenge the captain's breach of company regulations.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
JAL Safety Promotion Center
Location
Images:
photo (c) Werner Fischdick; London-Heathrow Airport (LHR); 09 August 1974
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jan-2024 11:21 | harro | Updated [Other fatalities, Accident report, ] |
| 15-Jan-2024 11:25 | harro | Updated [Time, Other fatalities, ] |
| 23-May-2024 16:30 | relton66 | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 15-Apr-2025 10:31 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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