China Airlines Flight 140
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| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 26 April 1994 |
| Type | Crash on Approach |
| Site | Nagoya, Japan |
| Fatalities | 264 |
| Injuries | 7 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A300B4 |
| Operator | China Airlines |
| Tail number | B-1816 |
| Passengers | 256 |
| Crew | 15 |
| Survivors | 7 |
On April 26, 1994, A China Airlines aircraft was due to land in Nagoya, Japan from Taipei, Taiwan. The Airbus A300 was completing a routine flight and approach, however just before landing, the First Officer pressed the Take Off/Go-Around button (also known as a TOGA) which raises the throttle position to the same as take offs and go-arounds.
The pilots attempted to correct the situation by manually reducing the throttles and pushing the yoke downwards. The autopilot then acted against these inputs (as it is programmed to do when the TOGA button is activated), causing the plane to have a very nose-high attitude. This nose-high attitude, combined with decreasing airspeed due to insufficient thrust, resulted in an aerodynamic stall of the aircraft. With insufficient altitude to recover from this condition, the subsequent crash killed 264 of the 271 people aboard. All passengers who survived the incident were seated at the starboard side of the aircraft in coach class.
The crash which destroyed the plane (delivered less than 3 years earlier in 1991) was attributed to crew error for their failure to correct the controls as well as the airspeed. China Airlines suffered financial difficulties in the aftermath which four years later, another China Airlines A300 crashed on approach to Chiang Kai Shek Airport. Then four years later, co-incidently, another China Airlines B747 crashed near the Penghu islands.
China Airlines was the given the famous quote "The airline who seems determined to break all records for delivering passengers to their maker rather than their destination." (Pg 280, The tombstone imperative THE TRUTH ABOUT AIR SAFETY by Andrew Weir)
