CAAC Flight 3303

CAAC Flight 3303 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Guilin Qifengling Airport, China. It was serviced by a Hawker Siddeley Trident, registration B-266, that crashed into a mountain on 26 April 1982, killing all 112 people aboard.[1][2]

CAAC Flight 3303
A CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident similar to the one involved.
Accident
Date26 April 1982
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteNear Yangshuo, Guangxi, China
Aircraft
Aircraft typeHawker Siddeley Trident
OperatorCAAC Airlines
RegistrationB-266
Flight originGuangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former), China
DestinationGuilin Qifengling Airport, China
Passengers104
Crew8
Fatalities112
Survivors0

Passengers and crew

There were 104 passengers and 8 crew members aboard the Trident. The captain, Chen Huaiyao, was an experienced Chinese Air Force Trident pilot who had joined the Guangzhou General Administration of Civil Aviation of China in 1982. It was his first flight to Guilin. Co-pilot Chen Zaiwen, 31, had served in the Chinese Army and Air Force.

Accident

At 16:45, as Flight 3303 was on approach to the airport in heavy rain, the crew wanted a north-to-south approach. The airport had no radar; the air traffic controller proceeded to misjudge the distance of the aircraft from the airport, and directed the flight to descend prematurely. The plane flew into a mountain near the town of Yangshuo, breaking up on impact. The accident killed all 112 people on board.

The dead included American entomologist Judson Linsley Gressitt and his wife.

The likely reason for the crash was poor crew resource management, as well as inadequate and erroneous communication from air traffic control. The captain had no experience in flying the Guilin route, and the area is noted for limestone cliffs that make landing hazardous.

References
  1. 1981年以来中国民航重大事故介绍 (in Chinese). Xmyzl.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  2. "1982 "4·26"桂林空难 – 专题信息 – 桂林生活网新闻中心" (in Chinese). News.guilinlife.com. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2013.


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