Civil Air Transport Flight 010 was a passenger flight from the now-closed
Kai Tak Airport in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to
Songshan Airport in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. The flight was operated by a
Boeing 727-92C with registration B-1018 and named "Super Cuihua." On 16 February 1968, the aircraft crashed into a
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...
village in Linkou Township,
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
County (now
Linkou District,
New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...
),
killing 21 of the 63 people on board as well as one person on the ground.
42 people were injured.
Accident
On the evening of 16 February 1968, B-1018 was flying from Hong Kong to Taipei Songshan Airport under the command of captain Stuart E. Dew, an unnamed first officer, and an unnamed flight engineer. Captain Hugh Hicks, the director of the airline's flight operations, was initially in the cockpit jumpseat, though Dew later let him perform the landing.
Taipei's approach control cleared Flight 010 for an ILS approach and then transferred the flight to the tower control. The direction and heading of the plane were normal and the weather was clear. When Captain Hicks suddenly noticed that the aircraft's altitude had dropped too low, he pushed the throttles in an attempt to perform a go-around. As the plane touched ground, the cockpit voice recorder recorded him screaming: "Go to hell!" The aircraft then crashed into houses and burst into flames.
Firefighters and the United States military assisted to the rescue.
Investigation
Taiwan's
Civil Aeronautics Administration released the final report on 4 March. It concluded that the cause of the accident was due to pilot error, stating that:
* The aircraft functioned normally;
* Weather was normal;
* Pilots who landed at Songshan reported that the ILS was working;
* There were no communication problems with
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
.
Aftermath
The 727 involved was leased from
Southern Air Transport
Southern Air Transport (SAT) (1947–1998), based in Miami, Florida, was a cargo airline best known as a front company for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) (1960–1973) and for its crucial role in the Iran-Contra scandal in the m ...
, and was Civil Air Transport's only aircraft that flew international routes.
The crash resulted in the demise of the airline. International flights were taken over by
China Airlines, and Civil Air Transport ceased operations in 1975.
Exactly 30 years after this accident,
China Airlines Flight 676
China Airlines Flight 676 (CAL676, CI676) was a scheduled international passenger flight. On Monday, 16 February 1998, the Airbus A300 jet airliner operating the flight crashed into a road and residential area in Tayuan, Taoyuan County (now Taoyu ...
, a flight from
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
to Taipei, crashed in Dayuan Township, Taoyuan County, (now
Dayuan District
Dayuan District (), formerly known as Dayuan Township () is a coastal district in northwestern Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
History
Dayuan District was originally named ''Toa-khu-hng'' (), literally means a vast (大) vegetable garden (坵園) as an o ...
,
Taoyuan City
Taoyuan () is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County to the south-e ...
) killing 203 people (all 196 on board and seven more on the ground).
Changes
Since the air traffic control radar at the time did not track the altitude of the aircraft, it was impossible to understand why Flight 010 suddenly dropped in altitude. It was only after the crash of
Eastern Air Lines Flight 401
Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 was a scheduled flight from New York JFK to Miami. Shortly before midnight on December 29, 1972, the Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar crashed into the Florida Everglades, causing 101 total fatalities. Three of the 4 cockpit ...
on 29 December 1972, in Miami, USA, that the Federal Aviation Administration began to introduce improved radar systems that displayed a flight's altitude.
References
External links
* ()
{{coord missing, Taiwan
Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 727
History of New Taipei
Airliner accidents and incidents involving controlled flight into terrain
Aviation accidents and incidents in 1968
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error
Aviation accidents and incidents in Taiwan
1968 in Taiwan
Civil Air Transport accidents and incidents
1968 disasters in Taiwan