2006 People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash
Shaanxi KJ-200 · In-flight break-up, loss of control following stall in icing conditions
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 40 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 40
- Survivors
- 0
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- Unknown
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Military
Shaanxi KJ-200
- Aircraft type
- Shaanxi KJ-200
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- 30172
- Onboard fatalities
- 40
- Route
- From not recordedTo not recorded
Cause areas
- Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
On June 3, 2006, a People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crashed in Guangde County, Anhui Province, China. All 40 people on board were killed.
Background
The aircraft involved was a PRC-produced Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane, one of four that were part of the country's efforts to expand its air defences. The exact model of aircraft involved was never officially identified, although it is believed to have been a KJ-200. The aircraft had been developed in 2002, and have been undergoing extensive tests since then.
The plane was carrying thirty-five electronics and avionics technicians, as well as five crewmembers. It is believed by aviation experts that the large number of people on board the aircraft indicated that some form of test was being conducted. Carrying such a large number of people allowed the plane to avoid transmitting real time data back to the ground, which could be compromised by foreign intelligence services.
Crash
While cruising at 28,000ft, the aircraft encountered icing conditions, entered an uncontrolled descent, likely stalled and partially disintegrated while in the air before crashing into a hillside, killing all 40 people on board. It was one of the worst disasters in the history of the Chinese air force.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
The Central Military Commission announced of the investigation result on September 7, 2006. The official explanation was that the accident was due to heavy ice formation on the wings after the aircraft made repeated passes in and out of clouds in bad weather. The announcement also declared that nearly a dozen high-ranking military officers were punished, including:
Jiang Jianzeng, commander of the Nanjing Military Region Air Force (MRAF) and deputy commander of the Nanjing Military Region (MR), was censured.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2006 People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash” (revision 1336165244, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2006 People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash
- Revision
- 1336165244 · 2026-02-02 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q4606803
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2006 People's Liberation Army Air Force KJ-200 crash" (page 9460008, revision 1336165244)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- operator named as an armed force or military unit in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.