The wreckage of the China Southern Airlines Boeing 757, which had the Civil Aviation Administration of China livery. |
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| Occurrence summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | October 2, 1990 |
| Type | Hijacking leading to runway collision |
| Site | former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangzhou, China (PRC) |
| Total fatalities | 128 |
| Total survivors | 96 |
| First aircraft | |
| Type | Boeing 737-25C |
| Operator | Xiamen Airlines |
| Tail number | B-2510 |
| Flight origin | Xiamen Airport |
| Destination | former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport |
| Passengers | 93 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 82 |
| Survivors | 20 |
| Second aircraft | |
| Type | Boeing 757-21B |
| Operator | China Southern Airlines |
| Tail number | B-2812 |
| Flight origin | former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport |
| Destination | Shanghai, China (PRC) |
| Passengers | 110 |
| Crew | 12 |
| Fatalities | 46 |
| Survivors | 76 |
| Third aircraft | |
| Type | Boeing 707-3J6B |
| Operator | China Southwest Airlines |
| Tail number | B-2402 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 1(all) |
The Guangzhou Baiyun aircraft collision was the result of the hijacking of Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301. The hijacked aircraft collided with two others on the runways of Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport on October 2, 1990 while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck a China Southwest Airlines aircraft first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 2812 and flipped on its back. Fatalities included 7 of 9 crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on the hijacked Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 2812.
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Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, a Xiamen Airlines flight using a Boeing 737-200,[1] was hijacked by Jiang Xiaofeng (蒋小峰, Hanyu Pinyin: Jiăng Xiăofēng) on October 2, 1990. Jiang, a 21-year old purchasing agent from Hunan, People's Republic of China (PRC), was seeking political asylum in Taiwan. He demanded that the aircraft reroute to Taipei, Taiwan.[2]
Prior to the hijacking and shortly after the aircraft took off from Xiamen, Jiang approached the cockpit while holding flowers. The security guards let him in; a TIME article stated that the guards likely let him through because they believed that Jiang was offering flowers to the pilots as a Moon Festival gift. The article stated that reportedly, once in the cockpit, he opened his jacket to reveal what appeared to be fifteen pounds of explosives strapped to his chest. The article added that Jiang ordered all crew members except for the pilot out of the cockpit.[3]
The captain of the flight explained to Jiang that the aircraft did not have enough fuel to reach Taipei, and proposed that he reroute to Hong Kong instead. Jiang refused to listen, and the negotiations went on for some time until the captain, noting that fuel was getting too low for safety, decided that he had no choice but to land. According to Google Maps website, flight distance: Xiamen to Guangzhou is 517km, Xiamen to Taipei is 319km, and Xiamen to Hong Kong is 631km.
Moments before landing, Jiang managed to wrestle control of the aircraft from the pilot. The 737 landed at the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, traveling at an excessive speed, and sideswiped a parked China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707-320B, slightly injuring the pilot, who was in the cockpit at the time.[4] Still unable to stop, the out-of-control 737 collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 2812, a Boeing 757[5] waiting to depart to Shanghai, before flipping over on its back and skidding to a halt.[6]
On the Xiamen Airlines 737, 7 of 9 crew members and 75 (including one American, 30 Taiwanese, and 3 people from Hong Kong) of 93 passengers died.[1] On the China Southern Aircraft all 12 crew members survived and 46 of 110 passengers died.[5] Of the passengers who died in the 757, 8 were from Taiwan.[7] A total of 128 people died in the disaster.[2] Jiang, the hijacker of the Xiamen Airlines aircraft, died.[3]
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