CAAC flight 3303

CAAC flight 3303
An identical Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident of the CAAC
Accident summary
Accident type	unexplained, controlled flight into terrain or loss of control
place	Mount Yangsu near Yangshuo , Guangxi , People's Republic of China
date	April 26, 1982
Fatalities	112
Survivors	0
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident 2E
operator	CAAC
Mark	B-266
Departure airport	Guangzhou Baiyun Airport (old) , People's Republic of China
Destination airport	Guilin Qifengling Airport , People's Republic of China
Passengers	104
crew	8th
Lists of aviation accidents

The CAAC Flight 3303 (Flight number: CA3303 ) was a scheduled flight of the Chinese airline CAAC from the airport Guangzhou Baiyun (old) to Guilin airport Qifengling . On April 26, 1982, a Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident 2E had an accident on this flight shortly before landing. All 112 people on board were killed in the accident.

At that time it was the most serious aviation accident in the People's Republic of China . In addition, the accident is the second most serious incident involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident after British European Airways flight 548 .

plane

The aircraft involved in the accident was a 6½ year old Hawker Siddeley HS.121 Trident 2E . The aircraft had the factory number 2170. The machine completed its maiden flight on February 12, 1975 before it was delivered to the CAAC and registered with the aircraft registration number B-266 . The three - engine narrow -body aircraft - the Hawker Siddeley Trident was the world's first three-engine passenger aircraft at the time - was equipped with three Rolls-Royce Spey 512 engines.

the accident

The plane took off from Guangzhou Baiyun Airport at around 4:10 p.m. The aircraft was approaching Guilin Airport when, after 34 minutes in the air, radio contact between the aircraft and air traffic control in Guilin suddenly broke off.

The plane flew into Mount Yangsu at around 4:45 p.m. near Gongcheng, 45 kilometers from the Guilin destination airport. At the time of the accident, it is said to have rained heavily in the area in which the accident occurred.

Salvage

After the accident, the government and the Civil Aviation Authority of the People's Republic of China immediately sent accident investigators to the scene of the accident. Around 1,000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army screened off the search, which lasted more than a week. The sight of the wreck suggested a violent impact. The aircraft had essentially crumbled, only the rear was preserved. All 112 inmates were killed. The rescue team reported that human remains and wreckage were scattered around the top of the mountain.

Victim

Of the 104 passengers killed on board the plane, 52 were citizens of Hong Kong , 45 were from the People's Republic of China, five were Chinese and two were US citizens . Hong Kong artist Mai Dacheng and his wife and children were among the dead .

According to official information, it was the worst accident in Chinese aviation since the crash of a Curtiss C-46 of the United States Air Force in October 1945 with 59 dead. In civil aviation, the crash of another Hawker Siddeley Trident of the CAAC, which was stolen and flown into a factory, was considered to be the worst incident to date.

root cause

The cause of the accident is unclear, there are contradicting information about the accident, from which two theories emerge. According to one theory, the autopilot switched itself off in flight. The machine then rolled to the side . The pilot only recognized the abnormal flight position when the vehicle was tilted at 45 degrees. However, the artificial horizon indicated the angle of inclination incorrectly, whereupon the pilot increased the roll angle to 180 degrees with his control commands. Then the machine got into a vertical flight position and crashed.

According to other information, the pilots lowered the machine too early, whereupon the machine flew into the mountain. The air traffic controllers are said to have noticed the low altitude of the aircraft, but not to have informed the crew of their mistake.

Trivia

In the Chinese-speaking world, the incident is known as “4 · 26” according to its date.

swell

• Accident report in the Aviation Safety Network
• Article about the accident (Chinese)
• Brief description of the accident (Chinese)
• List of Airline Accidents in China (Chinese)
• Company history on rzjets.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ Accident report C-46, 44-78591 Aviation Safety Network , accessed April 13, 2019.
2. ^ Trident accident report, B-274 Aviation Safety Network , accessed April 13, 2019.