China Airlines Flight 642

External image
External image
	Photos of Mandarin Airlines Flight 642

China Airlines Flight 642
	A Mandarin Airlines MD-11 similar to the one involved in the accident taxiing at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in 1997
Accident
Date	22 August 1999
Summary	Pilot error
Site	Hong Kong International Airport
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas MD-11
Operator	China Airlines/Mandarin Airlines
Registration	B-150disaster
Flight origin	Don Mueang International Airport
Stopover	Hong Kong International Airport
Destination	Chiang Kai-shek International Airport
Passengers	300
Crew	15
Fatalities	3
Injuries	208 (44 serious, 164 minor)
Survivors	312

China Airlines Flight 642 was a flight that crashed at Hong Kong International Airport on 22 August 1999. It was operating from Bangkok (Bangkok International Airport, now renamed Don Mueang International Airport) to Taipei with a stopover in Hong Kong.^[1]

The plane, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was operated by subsidiary Mandarin Airlines on behalf of China Airlines. While landing during a typhoon, it touched down hard, flipped over and caught fire. Of the 315 people on board, 312 survived and three were killed.

The route continues to operate today with the flight no longer originating in Bangkok and is strictly a Hong Kong-Taipei route. Bangkok-Hong Kong service ended on 31 October 2010. The route is now flown by a Boeing 747-400.^[2]

Summary

At about 6:43 P.M. local time (1043 UTC) on 22 August 1999, B-150disaster, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, was making its final approach to runway 25L when Typhoon Sam was 50 km NE of the airport. At an altitude of 700 feet prior to touchdown a further wind check was passed to the crew: 320 deg/28 knots gusting to 36 knots. This results in a crosswind component of 21.4 knots gusting to 27.5 knots, while the tested limit for the aircraft was 35 knots. During the final flare to land, the plane rolled to the right, landed hard on its right main gear and the No. 3 engine touched the runway. The right wing separated from the fuselage. The aircraft continued to roll over and skidded off the runway in flames. When it stopped, it was on its back and the rear of the plane was on fire, coming to rest on a grass area next to the runway, 1100 m from the runway threshold. The right wing was found on a taxiway 90 meters from the nose of the plane.^[3] As shown in photos of the aircraft at rest, the fire caused significant damage to the rear section of the aircraft but was quickly extinguished due to the heavy rain and quick response from rescue teams in the airport.

Three of the 300 passengers died; all 15 crew members survived.

Investigation

The final report of the accident blamed it mainly on pilot error; specifically the inability to arrest the high rate of descent existing at 50 ft altitude on the radar altimeter. The descent rate at touch down was 18–20 ft/s.

The flight data stored in the volatile memory of the aircraft's Quick Access Recorder (QAR) during the last 500 ft of the approach could not be recovered due to the interruption of the power supply at impact. Probable wind variations and the loss of headwind component, together with the early retardation of thrust levers, led to a 20 kt loss in indicated airspeed just prior to touchdown.^[4]

Due to the severe weather conditions forecast for Hong Kong, the flight crew had prepared to divert the flight to Taipei if the situation at Hong Kong was deemed unsuitable for landing. Extra fuel was carried for this possibility, resulting in a landing weight of 429,557 lbs, which is 443 lbs below its maximum landing weight of 430,000 lbs. Based on the initial weather and wind check which was passed to the crew from Hong Kong during the flight, they believed they could land there and decided against a diversion to Taipei. However four earlier flights had carried out missed approaches at Hong Kong and five had diverted.

During the final approach, the plane descended along the ILS glideslope until at about 700 ft, the crew visually acquired the runway. They disengaged the autopilot but left the autothrottle on. During the flare, the rate of descent was not arrested, the plane landed with the right wing slightly lower. The right landing gear touched down first, the right engine impacted the runway and the right wing was detached from the fuselage. Since the left wing was still attached, the lift from that wing rolled the fuselage onto its right side, and the plane came to rest inverted in the grass strip next to the runway. The spilled fuel caught fire.^[4]

Several suggestions were given to China Airlines concerning its training.^[4]

Media

The landing and crash of Flight 642 was recorded by nearby occupants in a car. The video with 'commentary' from the witnesses has been uploaded to several websites, like YouTube and Airdisaster.com.

A chain e-mail circulated allegedly showing another Mandarin Airlines MD-11 taxiing past the remains of Flight 642. The authenticity of the photo was verified by Snopes.

This disaster was also aired on RTHK's Elite Brigade II's Episode 2 in 2012.