B-2552, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1997
Accident
Date
15 April 2002 (2002-04-15)
Summary
Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
Site
Mount Dotdae, Gimhae, Near Busan, South Gyeongsang, South Korea[1] 35°13′58″N128°55′41″E / 35.2327°N 128.9280°E / 35.2327; 128.9280
Aircraft
Aircraft type
Boeing 767-2J6ER
Operator
Air China
IATA flight No.
CA129
ICAO flight No.
CCA129
Call sign
AIR CHINA 129
Registration
B-2552
Flight origin
Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China
Destination
Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Korea
Occupants
166
Passengers
155
Crew
11
Fatalities
129
Injuries
37
Survivors
37
Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On 15 April 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing 767-200ER, crashed into a hill near the airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.[1]
The Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board published the final report in March 2005 and concluded that the crash was due to pilot error. The final report stated that the crew was inadvertently flying below the minimum safe altitude. Detailed information from the report also revealed that the pilots had been trained to conduct a circling approach in the airline's simulator only for Beijing Capital International Airport and never for a circling approach to Gimhae Airport's runway 18R. Subsequently, the report also blamed the tower controllers at Gimhae Airport for not using the tower BRITE and MSAW systems after losing visual contact with the aircraft.[1] The Civil Aviation Administration of China responded to the Korean official report by pointing out that Park Junyong, the ATC official during the accident, was not licensed for air traffic control and issued incorrect orders due to his inexperience with the Boeing 767.[2]
Flight 129 is currently recorded as the deadliest aviation accident in South Korea.[3][4]
As of December 2023, Air China no longer uses the flight 129 designation on its Beijing Capital to Gimhae route,[5] and now uses the flight 729 designation instead.[6] Additionally, Air China utilises a Boeing 737, as the Boeing 767 has been retired from their fleet.
^ abcOfficial Aircraft Accident Report, Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board, 2005, KAIB/AAR F0201, archived from the original on October 17, 2006, retrieved 2020-01-15
^ "Comments on KAIB Aircraft Accident Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-01.
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