Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316

Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (KE6316/KAL6316) was a scheduled Korean Air Cargo freight flight from Shanghai to Seoul. On 15 April 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operating the route, registered as HL7373, crashed in Xinzhuang, Shanghai shortly after taking off from Hongqiao Airport, killing all 3 crew on board, along with 5 on the ground.[1][2]

Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316
HL7373, the aircraft involved in the accident while still a passenger aircraft
Accident
Date15 April 1999 (1999-04-15)
SummaryPilot error due to confusion between metric and imperial measures
SiteXinzhuang, Minhang District, near Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport,
Shanghai, China
31°06′00″N 121°22′16″E
Total fatalities8
Total injuries42
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas MD-11F
OperatorKorean Air Cargo
IATA flight No.KE6316
ICAO flight No.KAL6316
Call signKOREAN AIR 6316
RegistrationHL7373
Flight originShanghai Hongqiao International Airport, Shanghai, China
DestinationGimpo International Airport, Seoul, South Korea
Occupants3
Passengers0
Crew3
Fatalities3
Survivors0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities5
Ground injuries42

Accident

Loaded with 86 tons of cargo, the MD-11F operating Flight 6316 took off from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport at around 4:00 pm. The flight crew consisted of Captain Hong Sung-sil (Korean: 홍성실; Hanja: 洪性實) (54), First Officer Park Bon-suk (박본석; 朴本錫) (35), and flight engineer Park Byong-ki (박병기; 朴炳基) (48). After taking off, the MD-11F received clearance to climb to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) after the first officer contacted Shanghai Departure.

As the aircraft climbed to 4,500 feet (1,400 m), the first officer told the captain that the required altitude should be 1,500 feet (460 m), thinking that the aircraft was 3,000 feet (910 m) too high. Therefore, the captain pushed the control column abruptly forward, causing the aircraft to descend at over 34,000 feet per minute (10,000 m/min). At 4:04 pm, the aircraft became uncontrollable due to the steep dive and eventually crashed into an industrial zone in Xinzhuang, which is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi; 5.4 nmi) southwest of Hongqiao Airport. The aircraft impacted the ground and exploded. Along with the 3 South Korean crew on board, 2 pupils and 3 migrant workers on the ground also perished. The crash was recorded by the nearby Shanghai Earthquake Administration which indicated that the impact forces had generated an equivalent of a 1.6 magnitude earthquake.[3]

Aircraft

The aircraft operated Flight 6316 was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter with the registration HL7373 and S/N 48409, powered by three Pratt & Whitney PW4460 engines. Built-in February 1992, this aircraft was delivered to Korean Air on March 24, 1992. In 1996, the aircraft was converted to a freighter.[4][5]

Investigation

On April 27, 1999, the primary investigation revealed no evidence of an explosion or mechanical failure before the impact. In June 2001, further investigation carried out by CAAC showed that the first officer had confused 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), the required altitude, with 1,500 feet (460 m), causing the pilot to make the wrong decision to descend.[6][7]

In almost all countries, aviation altitudes are measured in feet in compliance with the ICAO convention.[8] Only China, Russia, North Korea, and some nearby countries use metres.[9][10]

See also

Footnotes
  1. The aircraft involved in this accident was initially delivered to Korean Air as HL7372, the sistership of HL7373. It crashed on November 28, 2009.
  2. The flight was from Beijing, China to Busan, Korea, flown by a Boeing 767-200ER registered B-2552 on April 15, 2002. 129 people were killed in that crash.

References
  1. 一架飞机今天下午在上海附近坠落 [A plane crashed near Shanghai this afternoon.] (in Chinese (China)). Sina News. April 15, 1999. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  2. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas MD-11F HL7373 Shanghai-Hongqiao Airport (SHA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  3. Haiping, Xu; Shiqing, Huang; Zhide, Wang. 用科学捍卫尊严──中国民航调查"4·15"韩航坠机事故原因纪实 第二节 寻找证据 [Defend dignity with science──Civil Aviation Investigation of China "April 15" Korean Airline crash cause documentary section 2 Finding evidence]. people.cn (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  4. "HL7373 Korean Air Lines McDonnell Douglas MD-11F". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  5. "Korean Air HL7373 (McDonnell Douglas MD-11 - MSN 48409)". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  6. 上海机场大韩航空事故原因为驾驶员失误 [Korean Air accident at Shanghai Airport was caused by driver error]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  7. "Controlled Flight Into Terrain, KOREAN AIR FLIGHT KE6316, MD-11F HL7373, SHANGHAI, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA, APRIL 15, 1999" (PDF). Civil Aviation Administration of China. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  8. "ANNEX 5 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation". Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  9. "Metric Altitude Reference". Skybrary. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  10. "Aviation's Crazy, Mixed Up Units of Measure". Aerosavvy aviation insight. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
External images
image icon Pre-accident photos of HL7373 from Airliners.net
image icon Pre-accident photos of HL7373 from JetPhotos.com
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