TOKYO (Reuters) - Holidaymakers slid down emergency chutes with moments to spare before their Taiwanese airliner exploded and caught fire on Monday, a few minutes after the jet landed on Japan's southern resort island of Okinawa.
The left engine of a Boeing 737-800 jet belonging to Taiwan-based China Airlines exploded shortly after arrival in Naha city from Taipei, ripping the plane apart, officials and witnesses said, but all 165 passengers and crew escaped safely.
"I saw several passengers evacuate from the plane using a chute. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of an explosion. It was a big explosion," said Tadahiro Hasuo, who told NHK he felt the heat of the blast while passing Naha airport in a taxi.
Video shot by a witness and broadcast on TV showed passengers sliding down two chutes on the right side of the plane, while flames and thick black smoke billowed from the left.
After the flames were extinguished, the charred remains of the plane lay broken on the tarmac near the terminal.
The nose of the plane sagged on its side, while the tail -- emblazoned with the airline's pink plum blossom symbol -- was intact at the other end. In between, the blackened remains of the interior could be seen, with much of the roof of the plane gone.
Early investigations in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, raised the possibility that leaking fuel may have caught fire.
"We don't have any information that suggests the accident was linked to terrorism. There is a possibility of the engine exploding and catching fire due to a fuel leak," a Naha airport police official told Reuters.
One member of the ground crew had been injured, Kyodo news agency reported.
The airline said the plane, which had 157 passengers and eight crew, had just undergone scheduled maintenance.
"Everything was working according to normal procedure. There was nothing wrong during the flight," China Airlines spokesman Johnson Sun told reporters.
China Airlines has a troubled safety record with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including a crash in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed. (For a related factbox see.)
Okinawa is a popular spot for beach holidays and the number of visitors to Japan from other parts of Asia has increased in recent years, with the lifting of visa restrictions.
Taiwan's civil aeronautics administration said it would send three people, along with China Airlines officials, to Okinawa to investigate the cause of the accident.
The aircraft's engines were made by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric Co and Safran unit Snecma, a Japanese Transport Ministry official said.
But he said it was not clear whether the engine was to blame for the accident.
(Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Leika Kihara in Tokyo and Ralph Jennings in Taipei)
Title: Re: China Airlines (Taiwan) Jet explodes shortly after landing
Post by: Frank N. O. on August 20, 2007, 05:24:00 PM
Holy heck that sounds scary, but it got worse when I read their safety record :( Wonderful news that there were no fatalities I must say :)
Frank
Title: Re: China Airlines (Taiwan) Jet explodes shortly after landing
Post by: want2fly on August 21, 2007, 01:40:59 PM
Frank N. O., is their saftey record really bad or something?
Title: Re: China Airlines (Taiwan) Jet explodes shortly after landing
Post by: Frank N. O. on August 21, 2007, 04:44:52 PM
Actually I don't know the safety statistics from other airlines, I just thought it sounded bad what was written in the article, if it's true that is. Here's the quote from the article in the link in Baradium's post.
Quote
China Airlines has a troubled safety record with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including a crash in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed.
I just thought 4 deadly accidents were bad, but then again, I don't know the cause of the accidents so maybe it wasn't their fault, sorry about that, I guess I didn't think my post thrue.
Frank
Title: Re: China Airlines (Taiwan) Jet explodes shortly after landing
Post by: PiperGirl on August 22, 2007, 01:55:27 PM
Actually, Frank, you were right, China Airlines doesn't have the best safety record.
Quote
http://www.airsafe.com/pr/asiasafe.htm (http://www.airsafe.com/pr/asiasafe.htm) What is the record of China Airlines? Since 1970, there have been nine fatal events involving China Airlines. The three most recent China Airlines events involved the A300-600 and the MD11 and there were a total of more than 460 fatalities in the two events. The estimated fatal event rate for China Airlines is about 11.4 fatal events per million flights. This is more than triple the rate of most major airlines in North America and western Europe.
I don't know about China Airlines specifically but some Aisian based airlines are hiring fairly low time pilots. Haven't actually checked the requirements for any Aisian airlines, but I know a couple of flight students from India who have told me they can be hired as a FO with about 250 hrs.
Title: Re: China Airlines (Taiwan) Jet explodes shortly after landing
Post by: Baradium on August 24, 2007, 11:55:15 PM
Actually, Frank, you were right, China Airlines doesn't have the best safety record.
Quote
http://www.airsafe.com/pr/asiasafe.htm (http://www.airsafe.com/pr/asiasafe.htm) What is the record of China Airlines? Since 1970, there have been nine fatal events involving China Airlines. The three most recent China Airlines events involved the A300-600 and the MD11 and there were a total of more than 460 fatalities in the two events. The estimated fatal event rate for China Airlines is about 11.4 fatal events per million flights. This is more than triple the rate of most major airlines in North America and western Europe.
I don't know about China Airlines specifically but some Aisian based airlines are hiring fairly low time pilots. Haven't actually checked the requirements for any Aisian airlines, but I know a couple of flight students from India who have told me they can be hired as a FO with about 250 hrs.
Heck, that's how it is in the US. Where do you think regionals are getting what pilots they can find? ;)
There are a number of regionals with current minimums of a commercial, multi engine land. From a 141 school that can be as few as 200 hours. And they *are* hiring pilots with those times.
