China Airlines Flight 120
| China Airlines Flight 120 | |
|---|---|
 The wreck of the machine after the fire |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Fire due to maintenance failure |
| place |
Naha Airport , Japan
|
| date | August 20, 2007 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 165 (all) |
| Injured | 3 + 1 airport employees |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 Boeing 737-800
|
| operator |
 China Airlines
|
| Mark |
B-18616
|
| Departure airport |
Taiwan Taoyuan Airport , Taiwan
|
| Destination airport |
Naha Airport , Japan
|
| Passengers | 157 |
| crew | 8th |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
China Airlines Flight 120 ( flight number : CI120 ) is a scheduled China Airlines flight from Taiwan Taoyuan Airport to Okinawa-Naha . On August 20, 2007 the flight was carried out with a Boeing 737-800 . After a flight and landing without any special incidents, the machine burned out completely while parking after the engines were switched off. An evacuation was initiated, injuring three people from the plane and an airport employee.
plane
The Boeing 737-800 with the aircraft registration number B-18616 (not air traffic sign ) was delivered to China Airlines in July 2002. In July 2006 winglets were retrofitted. The machine had the serial number 30175. It was the 1182nd Boeing 737 of the "Next-Generation" series produced, it was assembled at the Boeing plant in Renton , Washington . The machine was equipped with two CFM International CFM56-7B26 engines.
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Course of the accident
After a flight which was on schedule without incident, the plane landed at 10:26 pm local time in Naha and rolled at 10:34 AM to the boarding gate . Shortly after the engines were switched off, ground workers saw flames rising on engine number 2. The air traffic controllers informed Captain You Chien-kou, who thereupon initiated the immediate evacuation of the aircraft. The passengers left the machine via the emergency slides of the four exits at the front and rear; the middle emergency exits could not be used because of the fire. The two pilots got out through the cockpit window and wanted to lower themselves on the escape rope. As a result of the explosion that took place at that moment, the copilot lost his footing and leaned on the ground, and the pilot then jumped out. Both were not injured and were able to run away. About four and a half minutes after the fire was reported, the airport fire brigade was on the spot. At that time, all occupants had already left the machine.
All 165 people were able to save themselves from the burning machine, three passengers and an airport employee were injured.
Aircraft accident investigation
The accident was investigated by the Japanese investigation authority for rail and air accidents. Listening to the cockpit voice recorder showed that the crew had not noticed any abnormalities on the aircraft up to the incident. Investigators stated that no traces of kerosene loss could be found by the time they arrived at the gate.
On August 24, 2007, the investigators announced that the fire was caused by a spindle (shaft) of the slat drive . Their anchor device had come loose before landing and fell into the slat shaft. When the slats were retracted, the device was pressed into the tank by the slat shaft and pierced it. Kerosene leaked, but was blown away from the machine while the engines were still running. When the engines were switched off, however, it spilled onto the hot engine and caught fire.
The fact that the bolt could loosen in the first place was due to a maintenance error. A mechanic had dropped a washer unnoticed while repairing the travel limiter on the machine, which meant that the bolt was insufficiently secured. The design of the slat mechanism was also important, as it made the maintenance carried out extremely cumbersome as the mechanic had no view of the work carried out. The FAA then published an airworthiness directive for all types of the Boeing 737NG.
See also
- ↑ China Airlines Downstop Failure Animation on YouTube , November 4, 2011, accessed on March 3, 2019 (animation of the course of the accident).
Web links
- Accident report on aviation-accidents.net
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Accident Report B-737-800 B-18616 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on March 7, 2019.
- ↑ a b c Operating history B-18616 China Airlines Boeing 737-800 Planespotters.net (English), accessed on February 27, 2019.
- ↑ a b B737 - FAA tightened requirements, EASA issues AD , aero.de, August 30, 2007.
Coordinates: 26 ° 11 ′ 45 " N , 127 ° 38 ′ 45" E