Civil Aviation Administration of China

For the Latvian government agency formerly called the Civil Aviation Administration, see Latvian Civil Aviation Agency. For the former Hungarian agency once called the "Civil Aviation Administration", see Civil Aviation Authority (Hungary).
Civil Aviation Administration of China

中国民用航空局
Agency overview
Formed 1949
Jurisdiction  People's Republic of China
Headquarters Dongcheng District, Beijing
Agency executive Li Jiaxiang, Administrator of CAAC
Parent agency Ministry of Transport
Website www.caac.gov.cn
CAAC headquarters
Flight Inspection Center of CAAC

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; simplified Chinese: 中国民用航空局; traditional Chinese: 中國民用航空局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Jú), formerly the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (simplified Chinese: 中国民用航空总局; traditional Chinese: 中國民用航空總局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Zongjú), is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents.[1] As the aviation authority responsible for China, it concluded civil aviation agreements with other aviation authorities, including those of the Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China which are categorized as "special domestic".[2] The agency is headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing.[3]

The CAAC does not share the responsibility of managing China's airspace with the Central Military Commission under the regulations in the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国民用航空法, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Fǎ).

History

CAAC was formed on November 2, 1949, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, to manage all non-military aviation in the country, as well as provide general and commercial flight service (similar to Aeroflot in the Soviet Union). It was initially managed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

CAAC Ilyushin Il-62 at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport in 1974

In 1963, China departed from its policies of Marxist self-sufficiency with a purchase of six Vickers Viscount aircraft from Great Britain, followed in 1971 with four Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. In August 1971 the airline purchased six Trident 2E's directly from Hawker Siddeley.[4] The country also placed provisional orders for three Concorde aircraft. With the 1972 Nixon visit to China the country ordered 10 Boeing 707 jets. In December 1973 it took the unprecedented step of borrowing £40 million from Western banks to fund the purchase of 15 additional Trident jets. Russian built Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft were used on long range routes during the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1980 the airline was transferred to the direct control of the State Council.

In 1987 the airline division of CAAC was divided up into a number of airlines, each named after the region of China where it had its hub. Since then, CAAC acts solely as a government agency and no longer provides commercial flight service.

In March 2008, CAAC was made a subsidiary of the newly created Ministry of Transport, and its official Chinese name was slightly adjusted to reflect it being no longer a ministry-level agency. Its official English name has remained Civil Aviation Administration of China.

CAAC as an airline

CAAC
中国民航
IATA
CA		 ICAO
CCA		 Callsign
CAAC
Founded 1949
Ceased operations 1987 (Split into six airlines)
Hubs Beijing Capital
Shanghai Hongqiao
Guangzhou Baiyun
Chengdu Shuangliu
Xi'an Xiguan (closed in 1991)
Shenyang Taoxian
Destinations 85 Cities, In 25 Countries (As of 1987)
Parent company State Council
Headquarters Beijing, China
Key people Director of the General Office
CAAC Boeing 707
A CAAC Boeing 747SP at Charles de Gaulle Airport. (1981)
A CAAC Boeing 747-200B at Osaka International Airport, Japan, ca. 1990

CAAC began operating scheduled domestic flights to cities in China in 1949.

In 1962, CAAC began operating international services, initially to other countries in the Communist bloc such as the Soviet Union, Mongolia, North Korea, Burma, Bangladesh, North Vietnam, and Cambodia.[5] By the mid-1980s, CAAC had long-haul service to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, mainly using American Boeing aircraft, while continuing to use Soviet aircraft on routes to Eastern Europe.[6]

The Boeing customer code for CAAC was J6, which was inherited by Air China until 1999.

Separation

In 1987, CAAC's airline operations split into 6 separate airlines each named after the geographic region of the location of their headquarters and main operation areas:

CAAC used the IATA code CA on international flights only, domestic flights were not prefixed with the airline code.

CAAC aircraft livery featured Chinese national flag on the vertical stabilizer, with blue stripes and Chinese version of CAAC logo (autographed by Zhou Enlai) on a white fuselage.

CAAC's fleet in 1987

General aviation

Fleet retired before 1987

Major incidents

April 5, 1958
CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 632 crashed 44 mi fron Xi'an, killing all 14 on board.[7]
September 26, 1961
CAAC Shijiazhuang Y-5 18188 struck the side of a mountain, killing all 15 on board.[8]
May 1972
A CAAC Lisunov Li-2 overshot the runway at Dalian Airport, killing 6 occupants.
January 14, 1973
CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 644 struck a mountain near Guiyang, killing all 29 on board.[9]
January 21, 1976
CAAC Antonov An-24 B-492 crashed on approach to Changsha Huanghua International Airport, killing all 40 on board.[10]
August 26, 1976
A CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed during landing in Chengdu, killing 12 passengers.
March 14, 1979
CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E B-274 crashed into a factory in Beijing on climbout from Xijiao Airport during a training flight, killing all 12 on board and 32 on the ground.[11]
March 20, 1980
CAAC Antonov An-24RV B-484 crashed and burned near Huanghua Airport, killing all 26 on board.[12]
April 26, 1982
CAAC Flight 3303, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-266), crashed into a mountain near Yangsuo while on approach to Guilin, killing all 112 people on board.
December 24, 1982
CAAC Flight 2311, an Ilyushin Il-18B (B-202), burst into flames while landing at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, killing 25 of 69 on board.[13]
May 5, 1983
CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-296) was hijacked and landed at a U.S. military base in South Korea. The incident marked the first direct negotiations between South Korea and China, which did not have formal relations at the time.[14]
September 14, 1983
CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E B-264 collided with a Harbin H-5 bomber while taxiing at Guilin Airport. 11 of 106 on board were killed.[15]
January 18, 1985
CAAC Flight 5109, an Antonov An-24B (B-434), crashed in drizzle and fog while performing a missed approach to Jinan, killing 38 of 41 on board.[16]
December 15, 1986
CAAC Antonov An-24RV (B-3413), crashed while attempting to return to Lanzhou after an engine failed due to icing, killing 6 of 44 on board.[17]
August 31, 1988
CAAC Flight 301, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-2218), struck approach lights at Kai Tak Airport and struck a lip, collapsing the right main landing gear; the aircraft then slid off the runway into Kowloon Bay, killing 7 of the 89 on board. The cause was undetermined, but windshear may have been a factor.
December 16, 1989
CAAC Flight 981 (operated by Air China), a Boeing 747-200BM (B-2448), was hijacked while flying the Beijing-Shanghai-San Francisco-New York route. The hijacker's intended destination was Gimpo International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, but after South Korean authorities refused permission to land, the aircraft landed in Fukuoka Airport in Fukuoka, Japan. The hijacker was injured after being pushed out of the aircraft and was apprehended by Japanese authorities. The rest of the passengers and the crew were unharmed, and the aircraft returned to Beijing later that day.[18]

See also

Affiliated universities

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ the citation is in the treaty "Air Services Arrangement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" which calls intranational service as "specially managed domestic" this needs a proper ref statement.
  3. ↑ "English." Civil Aviation Administration of China. Retrieved on June 9, 2009. "北京市东城区东四西大街155号."
  4. ↑ Tridents for China, Flight International, 2 September 1971, p. 348
  5. ↑ 1964 timetable scans
  6. ↑ 1985 route map
  7. ↑ Accident description for 632 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Accident description for 18188 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Accident description for 644 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.
  10. ↑ Accident description for B-492 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Accident description for B-274 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  12. ↑ Accident description for B-484 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Accident description for B-202 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  14. ↑ Hijacking description for B-296 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Accident description for B-264 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  16. ↑ Accident description for B-434 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Accident description for B-3413 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Accident description for B-2448 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 25 August 2014.

External links

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