Uni-Air flight 873
| Uni-Air flight 873 | |
|---|---|
 An identical MD-90 from Uni Air |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Explosion in the hand luggage compartment on landing caused by dangerous goods |
| place |
Hualien Airport , Taiwan
|
| date | August 24, 1999 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 95 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
 McDonnell Douglas MD-90
|
| operator |
Uni Air
|
| Mark |
B-17912
|
| Departure airport |
Taipei Songshan Airport , Taiwan
|
| Destination airport |
Hualien Airport , Taiwan
|
| Passengers | 90 |
| crew | 6th |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The Uni-Air flight 873 (Flight number: B7 873 ) was a scheduled flight of the Taiwanese airline Uni Air from Taipei to Hualien . On August 24, 1999, a serious incident occurred on this flight when an explosion occurred on board a McDonnell Douglas MD-90 while landing, killing one person.
Airplane and occupants
The aircraft involved in the accident was a McDonnell Douglas MD-90, which was 2 years and 9 months old at the time of the accident. The machine was assembled at the McDonnell Douglas plant in Long Beach (California) and delivered new to Uni Air in November 1996. The aircraft had the factory number 53536, it was the model serial number 2160. The machine was registered with the aircraft registration number B-17912 . The twin - engined, narrow -body aircraft was equipped with two IAE V2525-D5 engines.
the accident
The 25-minute flight from Taipei Songshan Airport to Hualien Airport was uneventful . When the machine touched down, a loud bang could be heard from the front cabin area and thick black smoke escaped from one of the upper luggage compartments on the right-hand side. Insulation and charred hand luggage fell from the ceiling into the aisle.
After the machine had come to a standstill, a swift evacuation was initiated. It took the airport fire brigade more than an hour to get the fire under control. One passenger was killed in the incident and 28 people were injured. The machine was written off as a total loss.
Cause and legal processing
It turned out that a passenger had taken a highly flammable substance on board. The final report stated that it was two bottles of household bleach. A later indictment mentioned two bleach bottles filled with gasoline. The district court accused the Taiwanese Ku Chin-shui of having filled the two bottles, sealed them with silicone and given them to his nephew for the flight. The bottles leaked in flight, causing an extremely flammable oxygen-gasoline mixture to form in the overhead locker. Another passenger had stowed a motorcycle battery in his luggage. When landing, there was a short circuit in the motorcycle battery, which ignited the mixture.
Ku Chin-Shui, who was responsible according to the court, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, against which he appealed in July 2003. Since the charges against the accused were extremely sketchy, the Supreme Court ordered a re-investigation.
consequences
The investigation report also criticized the security policy at Taiwanese airports. The accident happened because two passengers were able to take on board potentially dangerous goods - bottles of gasoline and a motorcycle battery - which had caused an explosive reaction with one another. As a result, the control of liquids taken on board was tightened.
Media reception
The incident was filmed in the first episode of the 20th season of the television program Mayday - Alarm im Cockpit , which premiered on January 9, 2020. The title of the episode was Explosive Touchdown ( explosion when touching down ).
swell
- Accident report MD-90, B-17912 in the Aviation Safety Network
- Company history MD-90, B-17912 at Planespotters
- Final report ASC-AAR-00-11-001 of the Aviation Safety Council of the Republic of China in Taiwan
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 24 ° 1 ′ 34.4 ″ N , 121 ° 37 ′ 5.5 ″ E