Cathay Pacific Airways

Convair CV-880

Flight CX700Z was a scheduled international flight from Singapore to Hong Kong with an en-route stop at Bangkok. It made a 55 minute stop at Bangkok during which 68 passengers and baggage were off loaded, and 35 passengers and baggage, in addition to 35 000 lbs of JP-1 fuel, were loaded. The aircraft took off from Bangkok at 0455 hours GMT bound for Hong Kong via airway Green 67 at FL290. The flight proceeded normally with the aircraft maintaining routine radio contact first with Bangkok ACC and from 0542 hours with Saigon ACC. The last message from the aircraft was received at 0554 hours by Saigon ACC giving the aircraft's position at 0553 hours over reporting point "PE5" at FL290, with an estimated time over "XVK" reporting point of 0606 hours. At 0620 hours, when no further messages had been received from the aircraft, Saigon ACC called it several times but received no reply. A request for information concerning the aircraft, made by Saigon ACC at 0640 hours to Hong Kong and then Taipei ACCs, produced negative results. The Distress Phase was initiated at 0715 hours and DETRESFA signalled to Tan Son Nhut RCC for appropriate action. The RCC advised Saigon ACC at 0755 hours that a Convair type aircraft had crashed about 30 NM southeast of Pleiku TACAN beacon. The aircraft was identified as VR-HFZ by two helicopter pilots who reached the accident site soon after the occurrence and while the wreckage was still burning. They recovered two bodies from the burning wreckage and flew them to Pleiku. The aircraft was totally destroyed and none of the 81 occupants survived the crash.

Convair CV-880

Flight CX033 was a scheduled flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok with an additional en-route stop at Saigon to transport a backlog of passengers. A Check captain joined the flight. The co-pilot was flying the aircraft from the left-hand seat whilst the pilot-in-command occupied the right-hand seat to assess his performance. The Check captain occupied the jump seat behind the co-pilot from where he could monitor the performance of both pilots. At 10:31 the aircraft commenced to taxi out for takeoff on runway 13. A wind check of 010/10 kt was passed by the tower and acknowledged by the aircraft when the takeoff clearance was given. At 10:34 a rolling takeoff was commenced. The co-pilot, who was piloting the aircraft, increased the power to 1.5 EPR after which the engineer set the engines at maximum power. The aircraft accelerated normally but at a speed of slightly under 120 kt (as reported by the co-pilot) heavy vibration was experienced. The vibration increased in severity and the co-pilot decided to discontinue the takeoff. He called "abort", closed the power levers, applied maximum symmetrical braking and selected the spoilers. The abort action was stated to have been taken promptly except that there was a delay of 4-5 sec in applying reverse thrust which was then used at full power throughout the remainder of the aircraft's travel. No significant decrease in the rate of acceleration occurred until after an indicated airspeed of 133 kt had been attained, there was then a slow build-up of speed to 137 kt over the next 2 sec after which deceleration commenced. Both pilots were applying full brakes but neither of them felt the antiskid cycling. The aircraft continued to run straight some distance after initial braking was applied but then a veer to the right commenced. Opposite rudder was used but failed to check this forcing the use of differential braking to the extent that eventually the right brake had been eased off completely, whilst maximum left braking, full left rudder, full lateral control to the left, and nose-wheel steering were being applied, These actions were only partly effective and the aircraft eventually left the runway and entered the grass strip. The turn to the right continued until finally the aircraft crossed the seawall. All four engines separated on impact with, the sea, the nose of the aircraft was smashed in and the fuselage above floor level between the flight deck and the leading edge of the wing was fractured in two places. The aircraft spun to the right and came to rest some 400 ft from the seawall. A passenger was killed while 33 other were injured.

Douglas C-54 Skymaster

While cruising over the China Sea on a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, the aircraft was attacked and shot down by two Chinese Air Force Lavochkin La-7. Both engines number one and four caught fire. While the radio operator declared an emergency to ATC based at Hong Kong-Kai Tak Airport, the pilot decided to reduce his altitude in an attempt to make an emergency landing. While descending to an altitude of 2,000 feet, the right aileron was sheared off. The captain elected to ditch the aircraft that eventually crashed into the sea off the city of Sanya, on the south coast of Hainan Island. Two USAF Douglas AD-4 Skyraider were dispatched to locate the crash site but both were also attacked by the Chinese fighters. Later, a USN Albatross was eventually able to land in the area where eight people, two crew members and six passengers, were rescued. Ten other occupants were killed and the aircraft sank and was lost.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

During the takeoff roll, the right main gear collapsed. The aircraft veered off runway and came to rest. There were no casualties but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)

While approaching Hong Kong-Kai Tak Airport from the south, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and the visibility was very limited. In such conditions, the captain decided to make a go around when the aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located near the Braemar Reservoir located 3 km southwest of the runway 31 threshold. All 23 occupants were killed.

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina

Shortly after takeoff from Macau, a hijacker came into the cockpit and killed the captain with a gun. The copilot lost control of the aircraft christened 'Miss Macau' that crashed into the Zhujiang River Estuary, between Macau and Hong Kong. A passenger was seriously injured while all 25 other occupants were killed. This event was considered as the first official hijacking of a commercial aircraft in the Civil Aviation History. It was later reported that lone survivor, Huang Yu, was the admitted leader of the hijacking plot. He survived by jumping out the emergency exit just before the crash. He was brought to court by the Macau Police, but the Macau court suggested that the prosecution should be brought in Hong Kong instead, since the plane was registered in Hong Kong and most of the passengers were from there. However, the British colonial government in Hong Kong stated that the incident happened over Chinese territory in which the British have no jurisdiction. Since no state claimed authority to try him, Huang was released without trial from Macau prison on 11 June 1951, and was then deported to China.

Avro 652 Anson

Crashed on approach to Sandoway Airport. The aircraft was written off but there were no casualties.