China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303

China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303
B-2610, the aircraft involved, in CAAC livery in 1988
Accident
Date June 6, 1994
Summary Mechanical failure due to improper maintenance
Site Near Xi'an, China
34°16′N 108°54′E / 34.267°N 108.900°E / 34.267; 108.900Coordinates: 34°16′N 108°54′E / 34.267°N 108.900°E / 34.267; 108.900
Aircraft
Aircraft type Tupolev Tu-154M
Operator China Northwest Airlines
IATA flight No. WH2303
ICAO flight No. CNW2303
Call sign CHINA NORTHWEST 2303
Registration B-2610
Flight origin Xianyang Airport (XIY/ZLXY), China
Destination Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former) (CAN/ZGGG), China
Occupants 160
Passengers 146
Crew 14
Fatalities 160
Survivors 0

China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 (WH2303) was regularly scheduled flight from Xi'an to Guangzhou, operated by China Northwest Airlines . On June 6, 1994, the Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft (registration B-2610) operating the flight broke up in mid-air and crashed after take-off from Xianyang International Airport, killing all 160 people on board. Wreckage landed to the southeast of the airport, scattered over 18 miles (29 km) of farmland.[1][2][3] The crash is the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in mainland China.[4]

Aircraft

The aircraft was a Tupolev Tu-154M (registration B-2610, factory 86A740, serial no. 0740) was released by the Kuibyshev Aviation Plant (KuAPO) on December 22, 1986 and was immediately transferred to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). On July 1, 1988, due to reorganization, CAAC transferred the aircraft to China Northwest Airlines. The aircraft was powered with three turbojet Soloviev D-30KU-154-II engines from the Rybinsk Engine Plant. On the day of the accident, the aircraft had 12,507 flying hours and 6,651 takeoff and landing cycles.[5]

Passengers and crew

Crew

The flight crew members were captain Li Gangqiang, faculty captain Xin Tiancai, first officer Yang Min, pilot Zhang Nanjing, and flight engineer Kang Youfa. There were also nine flight attendants on board.

Passengers

Among the passengers, 133 were from mainland China, four were from Italy, three were from Hong Kong, two from the United States, one from Taiwan, two from Indonesia, one from Singapore, one from Malaysia, three from France, one from Canada, three from South Korea, one from Vietnam, and five were from Russia.[6][7]

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
 China 119 14 133
 Italy 4 0 4
 Hong Kong 3 0 3
 United States 2 0 2
 Taiwan 1 0 1
 Indonesia 2 0 2
 Singapore 1 0 1
 Malaysia 1 0 1
 France 3 0 3
 Canada 1 0 1
 South Korea 3 0 3
 Vietnam 1 0 1
 Russia 5 0 5
Total 146 14 160

Accident

The aircraft took off from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport at 8:13 on June 6, 1994. At that time, weather in Xi'an was raining, but it did not delay the flight. After the aircraft left the ground for 24 seconds, the crew reported that the body was floating and had an abnormal sound, but still maintained at a speed of 400km/h with the rated horsepower. [8]Three minutes after take-off, the plane flew over Xi'an City and turned southeast.[9]After that, the aircraft reported the drift of 20 degrees and 30 degrees at 8:16:24 and 8:16:58. At 8:17:06, the aircraft was not been able to maintain their assigned attitude. At the this point the aircraft was above Mingyu Township, Cheng'an County, Hebei Province. The crew then engaged the autopilot for a brief amount of time, but could not stabilize the aircraft, which irregularly turned right. At 8:22:27, the stall warning went off, with the aircraft travelling at 373 kilometres per hour (232 mph). Then it suddenly rolled to the left, the speed reached 747 kilometres per hour (464 mph), and the altitude dropped from 4,717 metres (15,476 ft) feet to 2,884 metres (9,462 ft) in 12 seconds. At 8:22:42, the aircraft disintegrated in mid-air above the suburb of Tsuitou Village, Mingyu Township.[10] All 14 crew members and 146 passengers on board were killed.

The remains of the wreckage and the victims were scattered in the wheat fields, rice fields, fish ponds and Weihe Beach within two kilometers of the western part of the Tsui Tau Village. The tail was also near a cement prefabricated board factory. The bodies of the victims were all found at 21:00, and most of them were killed by impact.[11]

Investigation

Maintenance errors were the main cause of the crash. On the night before the incident, the rudder of the passenger aircraft was incorrectly connected to the tilting steering system , while the tilting steering system was connected to the telex steering. However, the design of the avionics socket of the Tu-154 aircraft is improper, and it is prone to plug mis-insertion, and there were no anti-insertion measures.[12] In addition, the repair was carried out in an unapproved facility.

Aftermath

This and the crash of China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 in 1999, both resulted in China's decision decided to retire the Tupolev Tu-154. All Tu-154's in China were removed from service on October 30th, 2002.[13] China Northwest Airlines was acquired by China Eastern Airlines in 2003. China Eastern Airlines still uses the flight number 2303 for flights from Xi'an to Guangzhou.[14]

 

See Also

References

  1. ↑ Accident database. AirDisaster.com
  2. ↑ Tyler, Patrick E. "Jet Crash in China Kills 160; Another Flight Is Hijacked". Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  3. ↑ News report from the Kingston Gleaner. NewspaperArchive.com
  4. ↑ Accident description. The Aviation Safety Network Website
  5. ↑ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  6. ↑ Tyler, Patrick E (June 7, 1994). "Jet Crash in China Kills 160; Another Flight Is Hijacked". The New York Times. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  7. ↑ "All 160 on board plane killed in China's worst air crash". New Straits Times. June 7, 1994. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  8. ↑ "西北航空公司Ty—154M型B2610号飞机空难事故". 中國安全生產培訓網. Archived from the original on 2014-02-23. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  9. ↑ "6.6空难纪实". 中國民用航空維修協會. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  10. ↑ "首家报道"6·6"空难". 三秦都市報. 2008-12-28. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  11. ↑ 邓军虎 (1996). "西安"六·六"空难的法医学鉴定". 法医学杂志 (01). Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  12. ↑ "央视《新闻调查》--关注飞行安全". 新聞調查. 2002-05-24. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  13. ↑ "曾是前苏联骄傲 图-154昨从中国民航"退役"". 南方網. 2002-11-01. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  14. ↑ "China Eastern (MU) #2303 ✈ FlightAware". Retrieved 2014-02-20.
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