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CHINA TRADE UNIT
BRITISH TRADE COMMISSION IN HONG KONG
9th Floor Bank of America Tower 12 Harcourt Road Hong Kong Mail Address GPO Box No 528 Hong Kong
Telex HX 73031 Cable Address Uktrade Hong Kong Telephone 523 0176 Fax 845 2870
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Your reference
Our reference
Date
HK B 186/1
6 November 1990
90
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Mr Stone, HKJ
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CAAC B 737 CRASH GUANGZHOU, 2 OCTOBER
1.
On 2 October the hijacked B 737 CAAC flight from Xiamen ended, tragically, in flames at Guangzhou's Baiyun Airport. This attracted world wide attention. There was much criticism of CAAC and the Chinese government for their handling of the incident, especially in Hong Kong and Taiwan, whose citizens were amongst the dead and injured. What actually happened, and why, is still not very clear. The account that follows, of the aircraft's last moments and events afterwards, is probably the closest we shall get to the truth of those parts of the tragedy. It comes from Brian Cooper of Rolls Royce, stationed with CAAC Guangzhou at Baiyun Airport. I also attach a plan of the airport and the aircraft's landing.
2.
Baiyun Airport had been alerted about 30 minutes before the plane landed to its unscheduled arrival. Fire engines and emergency facilities were in place and on standby in advance. There were, contrary to some newspapers reports, no aircraft on the taxiways, but there were of course a number on the apron in front of the terminal. The 2 furthest (in front of the hangar) were a B 707 and a B 757. The hijacked plane landed from the north east and almost sheered violently off the runway towards the apron, across 2 taxiways and grass.
3. The plane's tyre marks ended some yards before it clipped the front of the B 707 and continued to crash into the neighbouring B 757 before disintegrating into 3 parts back on the grass. CAAC believe the pilot was making a last effort to avoid a crash by trying to lift the plane off the ground. It had travelled 1,000 metres off the runway and about 300 m towards the airport buildings. The miracle was that it did not hit the other aircraft in front of the terminal and explode into the terminal.
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