A Deadly Plane Crash - China Airlines Flight 611 - "Air Emergency" Scratching The Surface
- 5 years ago
China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taoyuan International Airport) in Taiwan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong. On 25 May 2002, the Boeing 747-209B operating the route disintegrated in mid-air and crashed into the Taiwan Strait 23 nautical miles (26 mi; 43 km) northeast of the Penghu Islands 20 minutes after takeoff, killing all 225 people on board. The in-flight break-up was caused by improper repairs to the aircraft 22 years earlier. As of 2019, the crash remains the deadliest in Taiwanese history.
The flight took off at 15:08 local time (07:08 UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Hong Kong at 16:28 HKT (08:28 UTC). The flight crew consisted of 51-year-old Captain Ching-Fong Yi, 52-year-old First Officer Yea Shyong Shieh, and 54-year-old Flight Engineer Sen Kuo Chao. All three pilots were highly experienced airmen – the captain and first officer each had more than 10,100 hours of flying time and the flight engineer had clocked more than 19,100 flight hours.
At 15:16, the flight was cleared to climb to flight level 350—approximately 35,000 feet (11,000 m). At 15:33, the aircraft broke up in mid-air and contact was lost. Chang Chia-juch, the Taiwanese Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications, said that two Cathay Pacific aircraft in the area received B-18255's emergency location-indicator signals. All 206 passengers and 19 crew members on board the aircraft died.
After the crash, in order to express respect for the victims, China Airlines retired the flight number 611. The flight number was changed to 619. The route Taipei to Hong Kong is served on many other flights, including 903, 641, 605 (which was also involved in an accident), 909, 913, 915, 617, 679, 923, 927 and 951.
As of 2018, the current flights are 601, 903, 641, 909, 679, 915, 919, 923, 927, 677 and 921, flown on a mixed fleet of Boeing 747, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
In addition, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft registered as B-18611 was changed to B-18617 in 2006 for the same reason.
The flight took off at 15:08 local time (07:08 UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Hong Kong at 16:28 HKT (08:28 UTC). The flight crew consisted of 51-year-old Captain Ching-Fong Yi, 52-year-old First Officer Yea Shyong Shieh, and 54-year-old Flight Engineer Sen Kuo Chao. All three pilots were highly experienced airmen – the captain and first officer each had more than 10,100 hours of flying time and the flight engineer had clocked more than 19,100 flight hours.
At 15:16, the flight was cleared to climb to flight level 350—approximately 35,000 feet (11,000 m). At 15:33, the aircraft broke up in mid-air and contact was lost. Chang Chia-juch, the Taiwanese Vice Minister of Transportation and Communications, said that two Cathay Pacific aircraft in the area received B-18255's emergency location-indicator signals. All 206 passengers and 19 crew members on board the aircraft died.
After the crash, in order to express respect for the victims, China Airlines retired the flight number 611. The flight number was changed to 619. The route Taipei to Hong Kong is served on many other flights, including 903, 641, 605 (which was also involved in an accident), 909, 913, 915, 617, 679, 923, 927 and 951.
As of 2018, the current flights are 601, 903, 641, 909, 679, 915, 919, 923, 927, 677 and 921, flown on a mixed fleet of Boeing 747, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 737 aircraft.
In addition, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft registered as B-18611 was changed to B-18617 in 2006 for the same reason.