China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509
1999 airplane crash in China
27°43′10.2″N 120°39′27.2″E / 27.719500°N 120.657556°E / 27.719500; 120.657556China 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 Tupolev Tu-154M operating the flight crashed while on approach to Wenzhou Airport, killing all 61 passengers and crew members on board.[1][2]
Aircraft and crew
The aircraft was a 1990-built Tupolev Tu-154M (serial number 90A-846, serial 0846) airliner 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]
The flight crew consisted of captain Yao Fuchen (Chinese: 姚福臣), first officer Xue Mao (薛冒), navigator Lan Zhangfeng (郎占锋), and flight engineer Guo Shuming (郭树铭). There were also seven flight attendants on board.[4]
Accident
On 24 February 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 aircraft disintegrated in mid-air and crashed into an area of high ground, and exploded. Witnesses saw the plane nose dive into the ground from an altitude of 700 metres (2,300 ft) and explode. All 61 people on board were killed.[1][2] Several people on the ground were injured from debris.[5]
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's pitch channel, causing the crash.[4]
Aftermath
This and the China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 disaster contributed to the decision to remove all Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft in China from service on October 30, 2002.[1][2]
See also
- Alaska Airlines Flight 261
- China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303
- China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146
- Japan Airlines Flight 123
- Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17, a crash where a maintenance error led to an elevator jam and loss of pitch control.
- Continental Express Flight 2574, an accident where a deicing boot detached from an elevator due to faulty maintenance, leading to a catastrophic loss of control.
References
- ^ a b c Chan, Minnie (2017-12-24). "Why China's military relies on an ageing Russian passenger jet". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ a b c Wantan, Wang (July 16, 2009). "图—154机型涉30起空难 中国已经停用7年" [Figure-154 model, involved in 30 air crashes, has been out of service for 7 years in China (Chinese Simplified)]. world.people.com.cn (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "✈ russianplanes.net ✈ наша авиация" [✈ russianplanes.net ✈ our aircraft]. russianplanes.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-10-04.
- ^ a b "关于西南航空公司"2·24"特大飞行事故结案的通知" [Notice on the completion of the "2·24" extraordinarily large flight accident of Southwest Airlines - Security Management Network (Chinese Simplified)]. www.safehoo.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2018-08-01.Translated article (Note: this translation was made automatically from the original (in Chinese) and has low technical quality, lends itself only to specific queries)
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154M B-2622 Ruian". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
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Aviation accidents and incidents in China
- 1922 Beijing-Han Airlines crash (March 1922)
- 1931 Jinan air crash (November 1931)
- Kweilin Incident (August 1938)
- Chungking Incident (October 1940)
- 1945 Peip'ing C-46 crash (October 1945)
- 1946 United States Air Force C-47 Crash at Yan'an (April 1946)
- Miss Macao (July 1948)
- Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown (July 1954)
- Lin Biao incident (September 1971)
- CAAC Flight 3303 (April 1982)
- CAAC Flight 2311 (December 1982)
- CAAC Flight 296 (May 1983)
- Guilin Airport collision (September 1983)
- Aeroflot Flight 101/435 (December 1985)
- China Airlines Flight 334 (May 1986)
- China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 (January 1988)
- China Eastern Airlines Flight 5510 (August 1989)
- Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions (October 1990)
- China General Aviation Flight 7552 (July 1992)
- China Southern Airlines Flight 3943 (November 1992)
- China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119 (July 1993)
- China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398 (October 1993)
- China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 (November 1993)
- China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 (June 1994)
- China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 (May 1997)
- China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 (February 1999)
- Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (April 1999)
- Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 (June 2000)
- Hainan Island incident (April 2001)
- China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (May 2002)
- China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 (November 2004)
- PLAAF KJ-200 crash (June 2006)
- Avient Aviation Flight 324 (November 2009)
- Henan Airlines Flight 8387 (August 2010)
- Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 (June 2012)
- Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 (May 2018)
- China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 (March 2022)
- Tibet Airlines Flight 9833 (May 2022)
Accidents and incidents in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not included.
