Korean Air Flight 8702

Korean Air flight 8702, operated by a Boeing 747-400, departed Tokyo, Narita International Airport at 16:50 for a flight to Seoul, scheduled to arrive there at 19:20. Bad weather, including heavy rainfall, at Seoul forced the flight crew to divert to Cheju. The aircraft took off from Cheju at 21:07 for Seoul. The flight was cleared to land on runway 14R with a crosswind component as the wind was from 220 degrees at 22 knots. Upon touchdown, the aircraft rolled off the runway. The aircraft slid into a ditch. The undercarriage was destroyed by the impact and the fuselage split. After the crash, the inside of the aircraft caught fire, but all the occupants were able to evacuate the aircraft.^[1]

The KCAB's investigation determined that the accident was caused by the captain's misuse of the thrust reverser during the landing roll and his confusion over crosswind conditions.

At the time of the accident, there were 27 other Boeing 747-400 aircraft in the Korean Air fleet.^[2]

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-4B5, registration HL7496 delivered to Korean Air on the 27th of June, 1996. Two years and two months old, it was there 21st 747-400 delivered to Korean Air and one of 27 in the fleet at the time of the accident. With line number 1083 and Construction Number (MSN) 26400, it had not been involved in any serious incidents in the time leading up to the crash.^[3]

The aircraft involved was the fourth of five Boeing 747s (2 -200, 1 -300, this -400 and 1 -200F) to be written off by Korean Air in a time lapse of 15 years^[4]

The Crash

Korean Air flight 8702 was a scheduled flight from Tokyo, Narita International Airport to Seoul, Incheon International Airport. Due to poor weather, the crew diverted to Jeju International Airport. Upon landing the aircraft was towed to the main terminal and the passengers temporarily disembarked into the terminal. Two hours later the passengers re-boarded the aircraft for the 1 hour flight back to Seoul

The aircraft took off from Cheju at 21:07 for Seoul. The flight was cleared to land on runway 14R with a crosswind component as the wind was from 220 degrees at 22 knots. Upon touchdown, the captain misused the reverse thrusters in a way the No. 1 engine failed to provide reverse thrust.^[5] Coupled with the fact the captain was confused with crosswind conditions and the first officer was preoccupied and not paying attention to the landing, the 747 failed to stop before the end of the runway. The aircraft swerved to the right and slid into a ditch at 50 knots with the fuselage splitting up.^[6]

References