Korean Air Incidents and Accidents - 1990s

1990s

• 13 June 1991 – (Boeing 727) from Jeju to Daegu, the aircraft performed an unexpected gear-up landing at Daegu. The crew failed to read out the landing procedure checklist and therefore didn't select the gear down option. Subsequent investigation revealed that the pilot instructed the co-pilot to pull the fuse from the warning system because the repeated warnings that the landing gear was not deployed were, "irritating and distracting," him as he attempted to land. With the warning horn disabled, the Korean pilot brought the plane in and slid down the length of the runway on the central structural rib in the belly of the aircraft. Damage– total destruction, Injuries– N/A, Deaths- 0, Airframe– Destroyed.

• 10 August 1994 – Flight 2033 (Airbus A300) from Seoul to Jeju, the flight approached faster than usual to avoid potential windshear. Fifty feet above the runway the co-pilot, who was not flying the aircraft, decided that there was insufficient runway left to land and tried to perform a go-around against the captain's wishes. The aircraft touched down 1,773 meters beyond the runway threshold. The aircraft could not be stopped on the remaining 1,227 meters of runway and overran at a speed of 104 knots. After striking the airport wall and a guard post at 30 knots, the aircraft burst into flames and was incinerated. The cabin crew was credited with safely evacuating all passengers although only half of the aircraft's emergency exits were usable. Damage– total destruction, Injuries– N/A, Deaths- 0, Airframe– written off.

• 22 September 1994 – Flight 916F (Boeing 747) from Zurich to Busan. Eight days prior, the aircraft had encountered a severe hailstorm over Elba, Italy which led to a near miss incident. The aircraft sustained severe damage to the radome, cockpit windows and engines but managed to reach Zurich safely. Some repair work was done, but the aircraft needed to be ferried to Busan for final repairs. Boeing released the aircraft with some take-off performance changes, which included a limited gross weight by 70,000 pounds and increased takeoff speeds for V1, V2 and VR by 15, 17 and 14 knots respectively. The aircraft was cleared for a Runway 14 takeoff and ZUE 5P departure. After a long take-off run, the aircraft lifted off the runway at the very end and climbed slowly. At 900 meters beyond the runway end the aircraft cleared some adjacent buildings at fewer than 50 meters. Subsequent investigation found that despite clear instructions to reduce weight, the crew had overloaded the aircraft by 86,700 pounds. Damage– N/A, Injuries– N/A, Deaths - 0, Airframe– N/A.

• 6 August 1997 – Korean Air Flight 801 (Boeing 747-3B5) from Seoul to Agana, Guam, The crew attempted a night-time approach to Guam runway 06L. Flight 801 had descended 800 feet below the prescribed altitude, struck the 709 feet Nimitz Hill at a height of 650 feet and crashed in a jungle valley, breaking up and bursting into flames. Subsequent investigation found that the captain's failure to adequately brief and execute the non-precision approach and the first officer's and flight engineer's failure to effectively monitor and cross-check the captain's execution of the approach were directly responsible for the crash. It was the first fatal crash of the Boeing 747-300. Contributing factors were the captain's fatigue and Korean Air's inadequate flight crew training. (See article: Korean Air Flight 801) Damage– total destruction, Injuries– multiple/severe, Deaths- 228 (22 of 23 crew, 206 of 231 passengers), Airframe– Destroyed.

• 5 August 1998 – Flight 8702 (Boeing 747-400) from Tokyo to Seoul. The flight departed Tokyo at 16:50 for a flight to Seoul, scheduled to arrive there at 19:20. Inclement weather at Seoul forced the flight crew to divert to Jeju. The aircraft took off from Cheju at 21:07 bound for Seoul. On landing in Seoul, the 747 bounced multiple times and slid 100 meters off the runway before coming to a stop in a grassy area. Damage– Complete destruction of air frame, Injuries– minor, Deaths- 0, Airframe– written off.

• 15 March 1999 – Korean Air Flight 1533 (McDonnell Douglas MD-83) from Seoul to Pohang departed for Pohang. Weather at Pohang was poor with degraded visibility and gusty 25 knot winds. The pilot failed at the first attempt to land. After the second approach the plane touched down, but overran the runway. The aircraft skidded through 10 antennas, a reinforced barbed wire fence and came to rest against an embankment. The landing snapped the fuselage in half. Damage– Complete destruction of air frame, Injuries– multiple, Deaths - 0, Airframe– written off.

• 15 April 1999 – Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (McDonnell Douglas MD-11) from Shanghai to Seoul took off despite the Korean co-pilot’s repeated misunderstanding and miscommunication with the tower and the pilot. The aircraft climbed to 4,500 feet and the captain, after receiving two wrong affirmative answers from the first officer that the required altitude should be 1,500 feet, thought that the aircraft was 3,000 feet too high. The captain then pushed the control column abruptly forward causing the aircraft to start a rapid descent. Neither was able to recover from the dive. The airplane plummeted into an industrial development zone 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) southwest of Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. The plane plunged to the ground, hitting housing for migrant workers, and exploded. (source ; ) Damage– Complete destruction of air frame, Injuries– 37 on ground, Deaths - 8 (three of three crew, five on ground), Airframe– written off.

• 22 December 1999 – Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 (Boeing 747-2B5F) from London to Milan The crew banked the aircraft into the ground while multiple audible warnings were sounding. Subsequent investigation revealed that the pilots did not respond appropriately to warnings during the climb after takeoff despite prompts from the flight engineer. The commanding pilot maintained a left roll control input, rolling the aircraft to approximately 90 of left bank and there was no control input to correct the pitch attitude throughout the turn. The first officer either did not monitor the aircraft attitude during the climbing turn or, having done so, did not alert the commander to the extreme unsafe attitude that developed, and the maintenance activity at London/Stansted was misdirected. Investigators subsequently suggested, among other things, that Korean Air alter training materials and safety education to meet the “unique” Korean culture. (See article: Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509) Damage– Complete destruction of air frame, Injuries– N/A, Deaths- 4 (four of four crew), Airframe– written off.