Cathay Pacific - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

  • On 16 July 1948, Miss Macao, a Cathay Pacific-subsidiary-operated Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina (VR-HDT) from Macau to Hong Kong was hijacked by four men, who killed the pilot after take-off. The aircraft crashed in the Pearl River Delta near Zhuhai. Twenty-six people died, leaving only one survivor, a hijacker. This was the first hijacking of a commercial airliner in the world.
  • On 24 February 1949, a Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-3 (VR-HDG) from Manila to Hong Kong, crashed near Braemar Reservoir after a go-around in poor weather. All 23 people on board died.
  • On 13 September 1949, a Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-3 (VR-HDW) departing from Anisakan, Burma, crashed on take-off when the right hand main gear leg collapsed. There were no reported fatalities.
  • On 23 July 1954, a Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 (VR-HEU) from Bangkok to Hong Kong was shot down by aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force in the South China Sea near Hainan Island. Ten people died, leaving eight survivors. After the incident, Cathay Pacific received an apology and compensation from the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It was apparently mistaken for a Nationalist Chinese military aircraft.
  • On 5 November 1967, Cathay Pacific Flight 33, operated by a Convair 880 (VR-HFX) from Hong Kong to Saigon, overran the runway at Kai Tak Airport. One person was killed and the aircraft was written-off.
  • On 15 June 1972, Cathay Pacific Flight 700Z, operated by a Convair 880 (VR-HFZ) from Bangkok to Hong Kong, disintegrated and crashed while the aircraft was flying at 29,000 feet (8,800 m) over Pleiku, Vietnam after a bomb exploded in a suitcase placed under a seat in the cabin, killing all 81 people on board.
  • On 13 April 2010, Cathay Pacific Flight 780, operated by an Airbus A330-300 registered as B-HLL, experienced engine failure due to contaminated fuel, forcing the crew to land the aircraft at almost twice the speed of a normal landing at Hong Kong, suffering minor damage. 57 passengers were injured, of which 10 were taken to hospital.

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Famous quotes containing the words incidents and/or accidents:

    An element of exaggeration clings to the popular judgment: great vices are made greater, great virtues greater also; interesting incidents are made more interesting, softer legends more soft.
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    Depression moods lead, almost invariably, to accidents. But, when they occur, our mood changes again, since the accident shows we can draw the world in our wake, and that we still retain some degree of power even when our spirits are low. A series of accidents creates a positively light-hearted state, out of consideration for this strange power.
    Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)