Kota Kinabalu International Airport - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

• 6 June 1976 - A chartered Sabah Air carrying government ministers crashed in nearby Sembulan upon descending towards the airport killing 11 passengers including the then Chief Minister of Sabah Tun Fuad Stephens. The crash became known as the "Double Six Tragedy".
• 6 September 1991 - An executive private executive jet with 10 Americans and two Britons on board crashed into the jungle near Hulu Kimanis, Papar, about 50 km from here.
• 16 November 1991 - Three policemen perished after their 11-seater Pilatus Porter Royal Malaysian Police aircraft crashed at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
• 18 September 1993 - A 13.5 square-metre depression occurred at the edge of the runway the airport had to closed for 70 minutes.
• 18 July 2003 - On Dragonair flight 60, an Airbus A330-342 from Hong Kong to Kota Kinabalu encountered severe turbulence associated with Tropical Depression Koni over the South China Sea. 12 crew members and 3 passengers were injured, of which 2 crew members sustained serious injuries. The aircraft landed safely at Hong Kong International Airport.
• 8 November 2004 - On AirAsia Flight 104, the Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 111 passengers and five crew skidded while landing. Three passengers - a five-year-old girl and two women - were injured while evacuating from the plane and received outpatient treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
• 14 December 2005 - The Kota Kinabalu International Airport was closed for a few hours after an AirAsia plane burst a tire on landing. There were no injuries in the 10.30pm incident.
• 25 October 2012 - KKIA was closed Thursday night after the runway lights malfunctioned, forcing several incoming and outgoing flights to be cancelled or rescheduled and leaving many passengers stranded.