China Airlines Flight 605

China Airlines Flight 605 was a daily non-stop flight departing from Taipei, Taiwan to British Hong Kong. On 4 November 1993, the Boeing 747-400 operating the flight went off the runway when attempting to land during a storm. It was the first hull loss of a 747-400.

Flight crew

The 47-year-old captain had previously served with the Republic of China Air Force and joined China Airlines in 1984. He started flying the 747 (the older -200 variant) in 1988 and was upgraded to a captain of the 747-400 in 1990. At the time of the accident, the captain had logged a total of 12,469 flight hours, including 3,559 hours on the Boeing 747. The 37-year-old first officer joined the airline in 1992, having previously served with the Republic of China Army. He had logged 5,705 hours, though only 953 of them were on the Boeing 747.

Accident

A British Airways pilot had refused to make the approach to Kai Tak runway 13 minutes before the CAL 605 captain decided to attempt it.

At 11:36 am local time, flight 605 touched down more than 2,100 ft past the runway's displaced threshold, at a speed of 150 knot, following an IGS runway 13 approach. Typhoon Ira was generating 20 knot crosswinds on that runway, gusting to 38 knot, from a heading of 070 degrees.

The pilots received several computer-generated wind shear and glide slope deviation warnings and observed severe airspeed fluctuations during the last mile before touchdown. The captain, who was the pilot flying, disconnected the auto-pilot and began flying the plane manually. He also disconnected the auto-throttle as he was dissatisfied with its performance. After the aircraft landed, the first officer took control of the plane and attempted to keep the aircraft on the centerline (of the runway). However, his inputs were too severe and the captain was forced to aid him. Meanwhile, the captain inadvertently increased engine power rather than activating the thrust reversers. The auto-brakes were set at only the number two level and then were turned off seconds after touchdown due to the increase in power. The speedbrakes were extended briefly, but then retracted, also due to the power increase. This caused the plane to "float", making the brakes ineffective until the speed brakes were extended again. When the First Officer finally noticed that the auto-brakes were disarmed and the thrust reversers had not deployed, the captain immediately applied manual braking and thrust reversal.

The captain deliberately turned the plane to the left when he realized the plane would overrun the runway and hit the approach lighting system (ALS) for runway 31. That action caused a "ground loop", making the plane slide off the left side of the runway into Victoria Harbour. The plane came to rest in shallow water, with a heading of almost 180 degrees out from the direction of runway 13.

The flight crew did not warn the cabin crew that the plane was about to overrun the runway. After the aircraft came to rest in the water, the cabin crew performed an unplanned ditching of the aircraft. Communication was hindered as the PA system was damaged and not functional; additionally, megaphones were not used. The captain and first officer performed the emergency checks from memory but did not use a written checklist. Crew members ensured that all passengers donned life jackets, and after permission from the captain, evacuated out of eight of the ten main deck emergency exits. These exits (as on all 747s) are equipped with inflatable evacuation slide/rafts for ditching emergencies. The passenger cabin remained completely above water during the evacuation, although eventually sinking tail-first. Additional damage to the nose and first-class cabin was noted. There were 23 minor injuries among passengers and crew.