Accident at Naha airport

[ichigo partygirl]

[Taro Toporific]

There isnt any english news yet, but there has been an accident involving a China Airlines plane with 155 people onboard at Naha airport

Turn on your TV and WATCH THE BURN!

[kurohinge1]

. . . there has been an accident involving a China Airlines plane with 155 people onboard at Naha airport. . .

[SIZE="4"]Jet catches fire at Okinawa airport[/SIZE]

A China Airlines jet caught fire on the tarmac at an airport in Okinawa after arriving on a flight from Taipei, on Monday, but there were no passengers injured, officials said.

All 155 passengers had disembarked from the Boeing 737 before the fire, Kyodo News reported . . . more

[SIZE="4"]Possibly the crew didn't realise that it was supposed to be a non-smoking service.[/SIZE]

[Taro Toporific]

CNN noontime news is saying 150 passengers got off safely, and that 5 passengers are "missing" (fried). CNN adds that either 2 crew members or 8 crew members also "missing."

NHK live report is saying right now that 4 women and I man comprise the "missing" passengers (but not to worry "no Japanese were involved").

[Mulboyne]

Turn on your TV and WATCH THE BURN!

As usual, not TV Tokyo.

[Taro Toporific]

Never mind...


Great escape from Japan plane inferno
Stuff.co.nz
A plane belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines Ltd exploded and caught fire soon after landing on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, but officials said all 165 people on board had escaped safely.
The Boeing 737-800 plane, which had just arrived from Taipei, was already being evacuated when the left engine exploded, ripping the plane apart...more...

CNN noontime news is saying 150 passengers got off safely, and that 5 passengers are "missing" (fried). CNN adds that either 2 crew members or 8 crew members also "missing."

NHK live report is saying right now that 4 women and I man comprise the "missing" passengers (but not to worry "no Japanese were involved").

[oyajikun]

This was the view from my office.

[martindesu]

BBC story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6954397.stm

[FG Lurker]

BBC story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6954397.stm

There are some photos in that BBC story that I haven't seen elsewhere yet:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/6954604.stm

Man, those passengers were very lucky indeed.

[GuyJean]

Man, those passengers were very lucky indeed.

Yeah, the video was intense; just as the last passengers were scampering away after sliding down the emergency sleds, there was a large explosion..

They say a maintenance dude noticed fuel spilling from the engine area, and told the tower to give the order.. The evacuation took 90 seconds, according to NHK.

GJ

[Taro Toporific]

Fark:
China Airlines plane catches fire on Japanese runway. Witnesses observed the passengers get out and run around the airplane before getting back in

[Tsuru]

Looks like the plane was on stand and waiting for be pushed back when it happened. Smells like one or a few consecutive failed engine starts and the resulting spilled fuel igniting under the wing when it finally did start. Mark my words.

[FG Lurker]

Looks like the plane was on stand and waiting for be pushed back when it happened. Smells like one or a few consecutive failed engine starts and the resulting spilled fuel igniting under the wing when it finally did start. Mark my words.

The plane landed at Naha 8 minutes before it exploded...

[kurohinge1]

. . . They say a maintenance dude noticed fuel spilling from the engine area, and told the tower to give the order.. The evacuation took 90 seconds, according to NHK. . .

Great team work and just in time - all those involved deserve a medal because it only takes one "weak link" to be indecisive and it could have been a very different outcome.

I couldn't help but remember that infamous photo of China (Mandarin) Airlines flight 642 - an upturned, de-winged wreck - while another of their planes taxis by - no doubt, full of nervous passengers.

The next few China Airlines planes into Naha may want to ask their passengers to close their blinds on the side the wreck is on.

That photo is also at the end of this YouTube clip:

[YT]boTZQfloiTw[/YT]

[Blah Pete]

Doesn't look like there will be many parts to salvage.


For some reason the cockpit warning and the auto fire supression system didn't kick in. Hopefully no maintenance guy bypassed it or something.

[L S]

From a Washington Post article...

Despite what passengers described as 10 minutes of panic and terror inside the plane before they found the emergency slides, none of the 165 people aboard was killed or seriously injured, China Airlines said.
"When the smoke started, people were just pushing and shoving each other," an unidentified female Taiwanese passenger told reporters. "It was total chaos."

...I thought pushing and shoving on China Airlines was normal.

[FG Lurker]

From a Washington Post article...

Despite what passengers described as 10 minutes of panic and terror inside the plane before they found the emergency slides, none of the 165 people aboard was killed or seriously injured, China Airlines said.
"When the smoke started, people were just pushing and shoving each other," an unidentified female Taiwanese passenger told reporters. "It was total chaos."

I've read that as well. However from more recent reports it looks like one of the plane's engines exploded 8 minutes after it landed. That said, even a 1 or 2 minute delay getting off a burning plane is going to seem like a helluva long time!

[Tsuru]

The plane landed at Naha 8 minutes before it exploded...

Oops, my bad

[IkemenTommy]

I wonder if China Airlines will offer reduced air travel now..

At least China Air won't crash for a while since they often beef up the plane inspection right after an accident until they lax off again and let another plane go up in flame.

[Mike Oxlong]

According to locals (maybe they got it from the news) there was one weak link in the chain...the local Naha fire dept. was not called in right away. The airport shares it's fire dept. with the next-door Jieitai base, and at first they were they only responders. The local F.D. was only called later, as an afterthought, though S.O.P. is to call both in simultaneously. Naturally, the S.D.F. trucks'll arrive first, backed up by their civilian brethern.

[FG Lurker]

Taiwan jet in emergency landing
BBC News, August 22, 2007

A Taiwanese China Airlines plane has been forced to make an emergency landing at an airport in Japan after it ran out of fuel, airport officials say.

The jet was on its way from Taipei to Nagoya when its pilots requested a landing at Kansai, in western Japan.

(Full Story)

I don't think I'll be flying China Airlines anytime soon... "Never" is a word that springs to mind.

[American Oyaji]

It is an invasion.

[IkemenTommy]

I wonder if China Airlines will offer reduced air travel now..

At least China Air won't crash for a while since they often beef up the plane inspection right after an accident until they lax off again and let another plane go up in flame.

Taiwan jet in emergency landing
BBC News, August 22, 2007


I don't think I'll be flying China Airlines anytime soon... "Never" is a word that springs to mind.

I am going to retract my previous statement.

[Mike Oxlong]

This was a case of runways being closed at Chubu Int'l Airport because of a bird-plane thing. The BBC article Lurk linked to mentions the same thing. The outta fuel story was in error.

spokesman for China Airlines, Johnson Sun, told the BBC News website that the main reason the plane had to make an unscheduled stop at Kansai airport was that it had been told that the runway at Nagoya had been closed.

He said the plane waited until the pilots were told that the runway was open and then continued on to Nagoya.

Earlier reports said the plane had been forced to land because it had run out of fuel.

[Taro Toporific]

I wonder if China Airlines will offer reduced air travel now...

Only [color="PaleTurquoise"]Redacted [/color]Airlines will offer discounts.:rolleyes:

[INDENT][floatr][/floatr]
China Airlines paints over name, logo on wreckage of jet at Naha Airport
MSN-Mainichi, 22 August 2007, NAHA --China Airlines has painted over its name and logo on the wreckage of a passenger jet that exploded in flames at Naha Airport....
The airline painted over the name "China Airlines" on the left-hand side of the aircraft and the company's logo on the plane's tail fin.
After the accident, photographs and video footage of the jet continued to appear in news reports, and the company apparently painted over the name and logo to limit further damage to its image.
....the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission. Officials granted the request, judging that it would not hinder the investigation into the accident, and the airline painted over the markings following inspections carried out on Tuesday...more...
[/INDENT]

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Plane flies into flock of seagulls forcing closure of airport runway

[kurohinge1]

. . . China Airlines has painted over its name and logo on the wreckage of a passenger jet that exploded in flames at Naha Airport . . .

They're just waiting for the undercoat to dry before painting over it with their competitor's name and logo.

[American Oyaji]

China has been taking a drubbing in the media recently with its products.

[FG Lurker]

China has been taking a drubbing in the media recently with its products.

Air China is Taiwanese though...

As far as Chinese products go, as much as possible I refuse to buy things made there. Sometimes there is no choice as all options are made in China, but if I have a choice I will do my best to buy things made elsewhere. I do not agree with the Chinese government on many things and therefore do not wish to support them by buying "Made in China" goods.

[omae mona]