1990 Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions
On 2 October 1990, a hijacked Boeing 737, operating Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, collided with two other aircraft on the runways of the old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck parked China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305 first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 3523, a Boeing 757 waiting to take off, flipping onto its back. A total of 128 people were killed, including seven of nine crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 3523.
The wreckage of the China Southern Airlines Boeing 757, which had the Civil Aviation Administration of China livery. | |
| Hijacking | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2 October 1990 |
| Summary | Hijacking leading to runway collision |
| Site | Former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Guangzhou, China (PRC) 23°11′14″N 113°16′05″E / 23.1872°N 113.2680°E |
| Total fatalities | 128 |
| Total injuries | 53 |
| Total missing | 0 |
| Total survivors | 95 |
| First aircraft | |
| A Xiamen Airlines Boeing 737-200 wearing the CAAC livery, similar to the accident aircraft. The Korean Air 747 in the background was involved in the hijacking of Lufthansa Flight 649 | |
| Type | Boeing 737-247 |
| Operator | Xiamen Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | MF8301 |
| ICAO flight No. | CXA8301 |
| Call sign | XIAMEN AIR 8301 |
| Registration | B-2510 |
| Flight origin | Xiamen Gaoqi Airport |
| Destination | Former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport |
| Occupants | 102 |
| Passengers | 93 |
| Crew | 9 |
| Fatalities | 82 |
| Injuries | 18 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Survivors | 18 |
| Second aircraft | |
| A China Southern Airlines Boeing 757-200 wearing the CAAC livery, similar to the accident aircraft. | |
| Type | Boeing 757-21B |
| Operator | China Southern Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | CZ3523 |
| ICAO flight No. | CSN3523 |
| Call sign | CHINA SOUTHERN 3523 |
| Registration | B-2812 |
| Flight origin | Former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport |
| Destination | Shanghai Hongqiao Airport |
| Occupants | 122 |
| Passengers | 110 |
| Crew | 12 |
| Fatalities | 46 |
| Injuries | 34 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Survivors | 76 |
| Third aircraft | |
| B-2402, the China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707 involved in the collisions, taken in 1983 | |
| Type | Boeing 707-3J6B |
| Operator | China Southwest Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | SZ4305 |
| ICAO flight No. | CXN4305 |
| Call sign | CHINA SOUTHWEST 4305 |
| Registration | B-2402 |
| Flight origin | Chengdu Shuangliu Airport |
| Destination | Former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport |
| Occupants | 1 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 1 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 1 |
| Missing | 0 |
| Survivors | 1 (all) |
Hijacking of Flight 8301
Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301, Boeing 737-200,[1] was hijacked by Jiang Xiaofeng (simplified Chinese: 蒋晓峰; traditional Chinese: 蔣曉峰; pinyin: Jiǎng Xiǎofēng), born 11 August 1969 in Linli County, Hunan Province[2][3] on Tuesday, 2 October 1990. Jiang, a 21-year-old purchasing agent from Hunan, People's Republic of China (PRC), was seeking political asylum in Taiwan.
Prior to the hijacking and shortly after the aircraft took off from Xiamen, Jiang approached the cockpit, holding flowers. The security guards let him in; a Time article stated that the guards probably 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 explosives strapped to his chest. The article added that Jiang ordered all crew members out of the cockpit, except for the pilot,[4] Cen Longyu,[2] whom he directed to fly to Taipei, Taiwan. The pilot did not comply, instead continuing toward the original destination of Guangzhou. Reports from the official Xinhua News Agency did not explain why the pilot did not accede to Jiang's demand.[5]
Communication with the flight was lost. It was finally re-established by the airport in Guangzhou, which authorized the pilot to land at any airport available, inside or outside the PRC. The pilot stated that the only other airport that the aircraft still had sufficient fuel to reach was Hong Kong. Guangzhou flight controllers agreed to allow the plane to land in Hong Kong, refuel, and proceed to Taipei. Jiang refused to allow this, and threatened to blow up the aircraft if it landed in Hong Kong. The pilot circled Guangzhou, attempting to reason with Jiang. He was eventually forced to land the plane when it ran dangerously low on fuel.[2]
Landing and collisions
Moments before landing, Jiang managed to wrestle control of the aircraft from the pilot. The 737 landed at an excessive speed, and sideswiped a parked China Southwest Airlines Boeing 707-3J6B which had just arrived from Chengdu as China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305, slightly injuring the pilot, who was in the cockpit at the time.[6] Still unable to stop, the out-of-control 737 collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 3523,[7] a Boeing 757[8] waiting to depart to Shanghai, before flipping over onto its back and skidding to a halt.[9]
On the Xiamen Airlines 737, seven of the nine crew members and 75 (including 30 Taiwanese, three people from Hong Kong and one American) of the 93 passengers died.[1] On the China Southern 757 aircraft all 12 crew members survived and 46 of 110 passengers died.[8] Of the passengers who died in the 757, eight were from Taiwan.[10] A total of 128 people died in the disaster,[5] including Jiang, the hijacker of the Xiamen Airlines aircraft.[4]
The hijacker
Jiang was once arrested for theft in September 1988. While working as a purchasing agent in 1990, he fled on 13 July with RMB 17.000 which was given to him for purchasing goods for his company. He was wanted by the police at the time of the hijacking.[3]
Two months later, on 29 September, Jiang checked-in at a hotel near the Xiamen borders. The next day, he booked a seat on the flight he would go on to hijack. Jiang checked out of the hotel around 6 a.m. on the morning of 2 October and headed to the airport. He was seen wearing a black suit and black dress shoes, carrying a black suitcase, and holding plastic roses. Jiang was the last to board the plane. He was sitting at seat 16D.[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b Hijacking description for B-2510 at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ a b c (PDF). Flight Safety Digest. Flight Safety Foundation. December 1990. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2012.
- ^ a b 周益 朱林 (2009-06-12). ["10·2" Extraordinary Air Accident at Baiyun Airport Revealed]. 周末 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2011-06-12.
- ^ a b . TIME. 15 October 1990. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ a b Kristof, Nicholas D. (10 October 1990). "Hijacking Prompts Beijing Shake-Up". The New York Times. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ Accident description for B-2402 at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ [Guangzhou 10.2 air crash review] (in Chinese). Guangzhou Daily. 2015-02-04. Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
- ^ a b Accident description for B-2812 at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ Wudunn, Sheryl (3 October 1990). "127 Killed in Jetliner Collision in China". The New York Times. p. 3. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ FCJ Editors. "" (Archive). Taiwan Journal. 15 October 1990.[dead link]
- ^ "1990年厦航客机空难揭秘 客机遭劫撞毁空姐玉殒" [The secret of the 1990 Xiamen Airlines passenger plane crash revealed. The passenger plane was hijacked and crashed and the flight attendant Yu died]. www.fjsen.com (in Chinese). 2009-06-08. from the original on 2014-08-31. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
External links
- Flight Safety Foundation's Flight Safety Digest, December 1990—a brief about the incident is on Pages 13–14 ()