- China Northwest Airlines flight 2303
Infobox Airliner accident|name=China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303
Date=June 6, 1994
Type=Faulty maintenance, mechanical failure
Site=Near Xian, China
Fatalities=160
Survivors=0
Aircraft Type=Tupolev Tu-154M
Origin= Xian-Xianyang Airport (XIY/ZLXY), China
Destination=Guangzhou-Baiyun Airport (CAN/ZGGG), China
Operator=China Northwest Airlines
Tail Number=B-2610
Passengers=146
Crew=14China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 was a domestic flight fromXian toGuangzhou ,China . OnJune 6 ,1994 , this aircraft, aTupolev Tu-154M , broke up in-flight and crashed as a result of anautopilot malfunction which caused violent shaking and overstressed the airframe. [ [http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=06061994®=B-2694&airline=China+Northwest+Airlines Accident database.] AirDisaster.com] Approximately eight minutes after takeoff (ten minutes in some reports), the control tower atXianyang Airport lost contact with the plane and it crashed in a field 18 miles southeast of the airport. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05EFDF143AF934A35755C0A962958260 News report from the New York Times.] ] [ [http://www.newspaperarchive.com/freepdfviewer.aspx?
] NewspaperArchive.com] All 146 passengers and 14 crew died. As of 2008, it remains the deadliest airplane crash ever to occur in China. [ [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940606-1 Accident description.] The Aviation Safety Network Website]Flawed maintenance of the aircraft is the probable cause of the tragic sequence of events. The previous evening, the autopilot yaw-channel had been erroneously connected to the bank control, and the bank-channel to the yaw controls. [ [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19940606-1 Accident description.] The Aviation Safety Network Website] Additionally, this incorrect maintenance was not done in a properly approved facility.
References
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