China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509

China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509
A China Southwest Airlines Tupolev Tu-154M Similar to the one involved
Accident
Date February 24, 1999
Summary Mechanical failure of aircraft tail section caused by poor maintenance
Site Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
Aircraft type Tupolev Tu-154M
Operator China Southwest Airlines
Registration B-2622
Passengers 50
Crew 11
Fatalities 61
Survivors 0

China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 (SZ4509) was a domestic flight in China from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, Sichuan to Wenzhou Yongqiang Airport, Zhejiang. On February 24, 1999, the Tupelov Tu-154M operating the flight crashed while on approach to Wenzhou Airport, killing all 61 passengers and crew members on board.[1][2]

Aircraft

The aircraft was a 1990-built Tupolev Tu-154M (serial number 90A-846, serial 0846airliner powered by three Soloviev D-30 turbofan engines from UEC Saturn. It was initially registered in the Soviet Union as CCCP-85846. It was delivered to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in April the same year, and was registered as B-2622.[3]

Crew

The flight crew consited of captain Yao Fuchen (Chinese: 姚福臣), first officer Xue Mao (Chinese: 薛 冒), navigator Lan Zhangfeng (chinese: 郎 占 锋), and flight engineer Guo Shuming (Chinese: 郭树铭). There were also seven flight attendants onboard.

Accident

On February 24, 1999 the crew was preparing the aircraft for landing at Wenzhou Airport. The flaps were extended at 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), but seconds after, the aircraft's nose lowered abruptly, the aircarft disintegrated in mid-air and crashed into an area of high ground, and exploded. Several people on the ground were injured from debris. Witnesses saw the plane nose dive into the ground from an altitude of 700 metres (2,300 ft) feet and explode. All 61 people onboard were killed.[1][2]

Cause

Incorrect self-locking locknuts had been installed in the elevator operating system, which maintenance crews failed to notice. These spun off during the flight, leaving the elevator uncontrollable. This disabled the aircraft pitch channel, causing the crash.[4]

Aftermath

This and the China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 disaster contributed to the decision of all Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft in China were taken out of service in October 30th, 2002.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Why China's military relies on an ageing Russian passenger jet". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  2. 1 2 3 Wantan, Wang (July 16, 2009). "Figure-154 model, involved in 30 air crashes, has been out of service for 7 years in China (Chinese Simplified)". world.people.com.cn. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  3. ↑ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация". russianplanes.net. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  4. ↑ "Notice on the completion of the "2·24" extraordinarily large flight accident of Southwest Airlines - Security Management Network (Chinese Simplified)". www.safehoo.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.

Coordinates: 27°54′57″N 120°39′22″E / 27.91583°N 120.65611°E / 27.91583; 120.65611

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