China Airlines Flight 140
| Industry | Airline |
|---|---|
| Founded | December 16, 1959 |
| Headquarters | Taipei , Taiwan |
| Products | Air transport services |
| Website | www |
China Airlines Flight 140 was an international passenger service scheduled to fly from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, to Nagoya Airport in Japan.
On April 26, 1994, while the Airbus A300 assigned to this route was on its final approach, the takeoff/go-around (TO/GA) mode was unintentionally activated moments before touchdown. The flight crew attempted to lower the aircraft's nose manually, but the autopilot—still engaged—counteracted by commanding a nose-up pitch. This opposing input resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent crash, claiming 264 lives out of the 271 occupants. This tragedy stands as China Airlines' most fatal incident, ranks as Japan's second deadliest aviation disaster after Japan Air Lines Flight 123, and is the third most catastrophic accident involving an Airbus A300.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was an Airbus A300B4-622R bearing registration B-1816 and manufacturer serial number 580. Built by Airbus Industrie on January 29, 1991, it was handed over to China Airlines on February 2 of the same year. Prior to the accident, it had accumulated 8,572 hours and 12 minutes of operational time with a total of 3,910 flight cycles. The plane was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4158 engines.
Accident
The flight took off from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport at 16:53 Taiwan Standard Time en route to Nagoya Airport. The cockpit crew consisted of Captain Wang Lo-chi, aged 42, with a total of 8,340 flight hours—including 1,350 on the Airbus A300—and First Officer Chuang Meng-jung, aged 26, who had logged 1,624 hours with 1,033 on the A300. The journey proceeded without incident until descent commenced at approximately 19:47. At around three nautical miles from the runway threshold and at an altitude near 1,000 feet above ground level, the first officer accidentally activated the takeoff/go-around (TO/GA) mode, prompting the autopilot to increase engine thrust.
In response, the pilots attempted to manually reduce throttle settings and pushed the control column forward but failed to disengage the autopilot. Consequently, the autopilot continued reacting to the TO/GA command by adjusting the horizontal stabilizer fully upward. Believing a go-around maneuver was necessary but unaware that TO/GA remained engaged, they manually initiated a go-around by pulling back on the yoke, increasing the aircraft’s nose-up angle. After briefly leveling off, the plane descended again to roughly 500 feet before applying intermittent thrust increases and climbing steeply with a high nose-up attitude. This combination of excessive pitch and inadequate thrust led to an aerodynamic stall. The aircraft stalled and impacted terrain at 20:15:45.
Survivor Noriyasu Shirai recalled that a flight attendant announced an imminent crash following the stall event. Another survivor, Sylvanie Detonio, stated in post-accident interviews that passengers did not receive any advance warning.
Out of the 271 people onboard—including 15 crew members and 256 passengers—only seven passengers survived. All survivors were seated between rows seven and fifteen. Early survivor reports mentioned a three-year-old Filipino child among them along with two Taiwanese and seven Japanese passengers; however, by May 6 only seven individuals remained alive, including three children.
Passengers
Among those onboard were 153 Japanese nationals and 18 Filipino citizens; Taiwanese passengers made up a significant portion of the remainder.
| Nationality | Passengers | Crew | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwan | 63 | 14 | 77 |
| Japan | 153 | 1 | 154 |
| Philippines | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| China | 39 | 0 | 39 |
| Total | 256 | 15 | 271 |
Investigation
The accident resulted in the loss of an aircraft that had been delivered less than three years prior (in 1991) and was mainly attributed to pilot error, particularly their inability to properly adjust the controls and airspeed. Although an autopilot software update existed that would disengage the system during specific control inputs—including the forward yoke movement performed by the flight crew—this update had not been installed. China Airlines did not consider it necessary to schedule a non-routine maintenance visit for this upgrade. These elements, combined with the pilots’ failure to regain command of the aircraft, led to the crash.
Further findings revealed that the captain had undergone training on an A300 simulator in Bangkok, which did not replicate the problematic GO-AROUND autopilot behavior. His assumption that pushing forward on the yoke would override automatic controls was consistent with his simulator experience and prior flights on Boeing 747s, clarifying his reaction during the event.
Software upgrade
Previous "out-of-trim" occurrences involving the Airbus A300-600R prompted Airbus to require the flight control computer manufacturer to revise the system so that autopilot would disengage when certain manual inputs are made during GO-AROUND mode. This modification became available in September 1993. Although the aircraft involved in the accident was scheduled to receive this update, it had not been installed because China Airlines considered it non-urgent.
Aftermath
On 3 May 1994, Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) directed China Airlines to implement the flight control computer modifications following Airbus’s advisory. Four days later, the CAA imposed additional training requirements and proficiency reassessments for all pilots operating the A300-600R.
Commemorative ceremonies were held in Kasugai, Aichi Prefecture, on both the 20th and 30th anniversaries of the tragedy, attracting hundreds of attendees paying their respects.
Court proceedings
Japanese prosecutors chose not to file charges of professional negligence against senior China Airlines officials, citing similar training protocols among airlines. The pilots who perished were not subject to prosecution.
A class action lawsuit against China Airlines and Airbus Industries led to a 2003 ruling by the Nagoya District Court mandating China Airlines to compensate 232 plaintiffs with 5 billion yen, while Airbus was acquitted. Dissatisfaction with this decision resulted in further litigation, culminating in a 2007 settlement where China Airlines issued an apology and provided additional compensation.
Dramatization
This incident was depicted in season 18, episode 9 of Mayday (also known as Air Crash Investigation), under the title "Deadly Go-Round".
See also
- China Airlines Flight 676, another Airbus A300 crash under comparable circumstances in 1998
External links
- Aircraft Accident Investigation Report – Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (archived)
- English main report text – Prepared by Hiroshi Sogame from All Nippon Airways and Prof. Peter B. Ladkin, PhD, University of Bielefeld
- English appendices – Prepared by Marco Gröning
- Original Aircraft Accident Investigation Report – Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (Japanese)
- Taiwan's China Airlines ordered to pay 5 billion yen over crash
- Cockpit voice recorder transcript
- "Kin settle over 1994 China Air Nagoya crash." Kyodo at the Japan Times, April 2007.
- China Airlines Airbus A300-600R Flight 140 accident summary
- "Kin allowed to view CAL crash victims' photos." The Japan Times, January 2004.
- "Japanese find flight recorder in plane crash." The New York Times at the Houston Chronicle, April 1994.
- "Brothers recovering (World briefs)" Houston Chronicle, May 1994.
- Air Disaster, Vol. 3, by Macarthur Job, Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd., 1998, pp. 139–155.
- Official Japanese report (English translation available)
- Failure Knowledge Database entry