The crash yesterday of a China Airlines Co (
The worst crash in the airline's history was the Nagoya crash on Apr. 26, 1994, in which 264 people on board were killed and 11 people on the ground injured.
A French-made Airbus A300-600R burst into flames at Nagoya International Airport when it stalled on its approach and crashed short of the runway.
The second worst crash until yesterday was on Feb. 16, 1998, when another A300-600R crashed into a residential area during its second landing attempt at the CKS International Airport (
The crash, which occurred at night, with visibility further reduced by rain and fog, killed the 197 people on board and seven on the ground.
Yesterday's flight CI-611 was scheduled to carry 225 people from Taipei to Hong Kong. At press time, more than 100 bodies had been found in the Taiwan Strait near Penghu, and rescue crews were still searching for survivors.
"We will definitely try our best to find more survivors, and we are hopeful," a spokesman at China Airlines who wished to remain anonymous said. "We are hoping it will not become the second worst crash in our history."
The spokesman said that the only 747-200 jumbo jetliner in the company's fleet had passed a detailed security check on Nov. 25 last year and another two minor checks on May 4.
"It was the only and last 747-200 we had. In the meantime, we will have to make further investigations before we can confirm the cause of the crash," he said. "However, technical problems probably aren't involved in this tragedy."
China Airlines' first crash occurred on Feb. 2, 1969, when a domestic DC-3 rammed into mountains in adverse weather conditions in Taitung, killing 24 people on board.
On Nov. 4, 1993, another Boeing 747-400 overshot the runway when landing at Hong Kong International Airport and ended up in the sea. No one was killed but 23 people on board were injured.
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