China Airlines Flight 605

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**China Airlines Flight 605**
Summary
Date	November 4, 1993
Type	Overran runway
Site	Kai Tak International Airport, China
Passengers	374
Crew	22
Injuries	0
Fatalities	0
Aircraft type	Boeing 747-400
Operator	China Airlines
Tail number	B-165
Destination	Kai Tak Airport

China Airlines Flight 605 (callsign "Dynasty 605") was a daily non-stop flight departing from Taipei at 6:30 Am and arriving at Kai Tak Airport at 7:00 Am local time.

[edit] The Accident

Flight 605 a Boeing 747-400, touched down more than 2,100 feet from the displaced runway threshold, at a speed of 150 knots, following an IGS 13 non-precision approach. Tropical storm Ira was generating strong crosswinds on that runway (070deg, 20 knots gusting to 38kts).

The pilots received several computer-generated wind shear and glide slope deviation warnings, as well as severe airspeed fluctuations, during the last mile before touchdown. The auto brakes were set at only the number two level and then were turned off moments after touchdown, when the Captain elected to use manual braking and thrust reversal. The Speedbrakes were extended momentarily, but then retracted, causing the plane to "float," which made the brakes ineffective, until the speed brakes were extended again.

The Captain deliberately turned the plane to the left, when he realized the plane would go off the end of the runway, and into the approach lighting system for runway 31. That caused a "ground loop," which made the plane slide off the left side of the runway, into Victoria Harbor. It finally came to rest in that shallow water, with a heading of almost 180 degrees out from the direction of runway 13.

A British Airways pilot refused to make the approach to Kai Tak runway 13, only minutes before the CAL 605 Captain decided he would try it.

The accident was caused by the Captain's failure to initiate the mandatory missed approach procedure, as soon as they began receiving the severe airspeed fluctuations, combined with the wind shear and glide slope deviation alerts.

[edit] The Aftermath

There were no serious injuries among passengers or crew, but the plane was written off as a total hull loss. The vertical stabilizer on the plane interfered with the accuracy of the ILS signals for runway 31, so it was removed with dynamite, shortly after the crash. That permitted airliners to make safe ILS approaches, whenever the wind patterns mandated the use of that reciprocal runway 31.