Korean Air Flight 803

Korean Air

Industry	Airline
Founded	March 1, 1969 (1969-03-01)
Headquarters	Seoul , South Korea
Products	Air transport services

Not to be confused with Korean Air Flight 801.

Korean Air Flight 803 was a flight operated by a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 that crashed on 27 July 1989 while attempting to land in Tripoli, Libya. Of the 199 individuals aboard, including passengers and crew, 74 lost their lives. Additionally, six fatalities occurred on the ground. At that time, this incident represented Libya's deadliest aviation catastrophe. It remains the country's third most fatal accident, following Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 in 1992 with 159 deaths and Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 in 2009 with 103 fatalities.

Aircraft

The airplane involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 with serial number 47887 and line number 125. Manufactured in 1973, it completed its maiden flight on September 17 of that year. During its testing phase, it carried the registration N54634. The aircraft was equipped with three General Electric CF6 turbofan engines of the CF6-50C2 model. In November 1974, ownership transferred to Air Siam, where it was registered as HS-VGE in Thailand on November 25. Later, in February 1977, the plane was acquired by Korean Air, then known as Korean Air Lines, and re-registered as HL7328 on February 25, 1977.Template:Fix/category Prior to the accident, the aircraft had accumulated approximately 49,025 flight hours and completed around 11,440 takeoff and landing cycles.

Crew

The flight's captain was Kim Ho-jung, aged 54, with Choi Jae-hong, 57, serving as the first officer, and Hyun Gyu-hwan, 53, fulfilling the role of flight engineer.

Accident

Flight 803 operated as a scheduled international passenger route originating from Seoul, South Korea, destined for Tripoli, Libya, with planned stops in Bangkok, Thailand, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Onboard were 18 crew members alongside 181 passengers, predominantly South Korean laborers returning to Libya after their leave to resume construction work. At the time of the crash, heavy fog severely limited visibility to a range between 100 and 800 feet. Despite these adverse weather conditions, the crew elected to proceed with the landing approach. During the final approach to runway 27, the DC-10 descended beneath the glide slope and subsequently collided with two buildings at approximately 7:05 (some reports indicate 7:30). The aircraft fragmented into three parts and ignited upon impact. Fatalities on board were primarily caused by the ensuing fire, accounting for 90%, while the remaining 10% resulted from the impact forces. The crash site was located within an orchard roughly 1.5 miles short of runway 27. In total, 80 individuals lost their lives—including 70 passengers, four crew members, and six ground fatalities.

Among those aboard Flight 803 were 189 South Koreans, seven Libyan nationals, and three Japanese passengers. Several South Korean employees on this flight worked for Daewoo and Donga Construction Co., two prominent companies involved in overseas projects.

Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
South Korea	171	18	189
Libya	7	0	7
Japan	3	0	3
Total	181	18	199

Aftermath

Following the crash, Captain Kim Ho-jung of Flight 803 stated, "As I approached, the airport was enveloped in thick fog, severely limiting visibility. I lost communication with the control tower for approximately 15 minutes before the accident occurred." Libya's state news outlet, JANA, indicated that a Soviet aircraft had diverted to Malta an hour prior to Flight 803 due to the foggy conditions. Furthermore, the instrument landing system at Tripoli International Airport was non-operational at the time of the incident.

In December 1990, a Libyan court convicted both the captain and first officer of negligence. The captain received a two-year prison term, while the first officer was sentenced to eighteen months; however, the latter's sentence was suspended.

Investigation

Under Libyan authorities' directive, French experts were called upon to examine the accident's causes. The flight data recorders were transported to France for analysis. Meanwhile, American officials and representatives from the aircraft manufacturer were denied entry into Libya during this period.

Cause

The investigation concluded that multiple contributing factors led to the crash. Crew fatigue due to insufficient rest resulted in a failure to identify potential hazards and inadequate adherence to the captain's commands. Both the first officer and flight engineer neglected to recognize and warn about proximity to the ground and excessive descent speed. Compounding this issue, the GPWS did not provide continuous alerts during descent, partly due to insufficient crew training on its operation. These combined shortcomings caused an accelerated descent below decision altitude without visual confirmation of runway lighting, culminating in impact with the ground.