China Southern Airlines Flight 3943

The aircraft involved in the accident was a Boeing 737-3Y0, registration B-2523, that was equipped with a twin CFMI CFM56-3B-1 powerplant. With serial number 24913, it had its maiden flight on 10 May 1991 and was delivered new to China Southern Airlines on 23 May the same year.[1] The airframe was 1 year and 198 days old at the time of the accident, and had logged 4,165 flight hours and 3,153 cycles.[2]

Flight 3943 departed Guangzhou on a 55-minute flight to Guilin. During the descent towards Guilin, at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 m), the captain attempted to level off the plane by raising the nose. The plane's autothrottle was engaged for descent, but the crew did not notice that the number 2 power lever was at idle. This led to an asymmetrical power condition. The airplane rolled to the right, and the crew was unable to regain control. At 07:52, the plane crashed into a mountain in the sparsely populated Guangxi region.[3] It was the deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-300 at the time, as well as the deadliest on Chinese soil;[3] as of June 2020, it is still the second-deadliest accident in both of those categories, behind Flash Airlines Flight 604,[4] and China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303,[5] respectively. It is also the accident with the highest number of fatalities involving a China Southern Airlines aircraft.[6]

There were 141 people on board, of whom 131 were passengers. Occupants of the aircraft were from the following countries or regions:[2]

• Sriwijaya Air Flight 182
• TAROM Flight 371
• United Airlines Flight 585
• USAir Flight 427

• Accident information at airfleets.net