Kai Tak Airport & China Airlines Flight 605 - DISASTER BREAKDOWN
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- Опубликовано: 5 ноя 2021
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There will never be another airport quite like the one which served the Asian Metropolis of Hong Kong in the years leading up to 1998. Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak airport is iconic among aviation enthusiasts but was eventually closed due to rampant noise and air pollution and the large amount of land which it occupied right in the center of town.
What made this airport so unique was the very interesting approach path that aircraft would take for landing on Runway 13. Planes were guided towards a large hill and with just a few hundred feet of altitude would make a large banking turn over a densely populated area just seconds before touching down.
You see, planes couldn’t make a straight in approach due to terrain limitations and there was not a whole lot of flat space to put an airport here as it was already built on partially reclaimed land. That steep turn on short final was made over the densely populated area of Kowloon. Hong Kong in the latter half of the 20th century became an economic powerhouse making Kai Tak one of the busiest airports in the world, in fact it once held the accolades of being the busiest airport in the world for Cargo Transportation and the Busiest Airport in the world with the use of a single runway.
The large iconic planes of the 20th century, 747s, Dc10s, L1011s and Concordes were commonplace at the airport, and all made that same approach. As you would expect, the infamous IGS13 approach was a challenging one, it was one that pilots had to have specific training to perform. This led to some complications but despite this, no fatal accidents ever occurred in relation to this approach at Kai Tak. Though one plane crashed in 1988 on the reciprocal runway, no crash had occurred on the unconventional approach. Except, one time.
On the 4th of November 1993, a China Airlines Boeing 747 crashed at Kai Tak. In this video we will break down the timeline of events which lead to this incident and take a closer look at the airport and its infamous approach flight path.
Background Music Credits:
Sacred Grounds - Christian Andersen
Dragon's Tongue - Autonomic Sensations
Pull Back - Brendon Moeller
Heart of the River of the Sun - Lama House
Ghosting - Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen
Sources:
web.archive.org/web/201211071...
simpleflying.com/kai-tak-airp...
tailstrike.com/database/4-nov...
kr.xe.ivao.aero/download/char...
www.nycaviation.com/2014/11/on...
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Congrats on your sponsor man, 1m subs will come faster than you think
Nice work mate!
Your videos are awesome.
Just so you know... i am financially not in a position to contribute.
But i attentively listen to even your end credits and let any adverts play on any of the good channels.
Your productions are really above par👌🏽👍🏼 and we are thankful to you🤝🏻 for these.
I lived in Kowloon in the 70s as a teenager. Our flat was located a third of the way up the mountains, between Lion rock and the radar mountain. This gave me an excellent view of Kai Tak and with my binoculars I used to watch the planes land for hours. Lovely memories, I saw the first Cathay Pacific TriStar land on 13 and also the first Concord which also did the checkerboard approach. Then it was mainly 707s, 747s, DC8s and a few Tristars, the occasional VC10 too, they sound amazing. Kai Tak ignited my passion for aviation. Thank you very much for the video and also the avalanche of memories I am now experiencing.
That must have been amazing! Thank you for sharing these memories with us. 💗
Holy shit you lived in Kowloon? That place fascinates me. Do you have any pictures or stories you could share?
I think its a crime China tore it down. Should have left some of it up as a tour of some sort, preserved the history.
Hello NOSTALGIA!!!
Thanks for sharing.
I don’t know enough of the history of Hong Kong. I need to read about it. I understand it’s current issues and pray for their people …. Not good when China has control over you …. As we see here in the USA. Meh.
Ideal location for plane watching. Mountainside must have been great.
It's wild that this seems like such an unnecessarily dangerous setup that would be prone to disaster and yet seems like it worked great for over 70 years.
I can imagine that every pilot flying this approach did so with the utmost attention to detail. No complacency landing here! 😬
It's probably because it appeared so dangerous that very few accidents happened. Pilots would go into it with higher vigilance. Accidents happen when pilots and airlines let that vigilance slip and become complacent. This is why you can see normally innocuous and routine manoeuvres end in disaster.
How I should explain the existence of this setup...
It was originally built there because East Kawloon was still a semi frontier so they thought that place was good enough, never would they think that the population would explode to the point that the airport would be surrounded by buildings... and Lantau by that point is still undeveloped, even now excluding Dong Chung, the island is still only sparsly populated by small fishing villages like Dai O, so they basically stick to using that airport until the near end of colonial rule, when they think its time to get themselves a new airport...
@@forestllwong4789 Tung Chung doesn't even exist before the 1989 plan to build the new airport, as Tung Chung is a new town, its different from the older city design found in Shau Kei Wan or the older satellite/new town of Kwun Tong, but its really the Tiananmen square incident that made the Governor to build a new airport to regain credibility. However back in the 60s, the colonial gov already tried to find new space for a new airport due to Kai Tak being full, however none of the option were chosen due to various reason thus Kai Tak was expanded, its also because of the fact that Kai Tak's capacity was full but they also could no longer sustainably expand it
Its china
"The tail is blocking our IGS signal.... you guys trying to keep this? or can we just blow the tail off?"
Haha exactly
"It's a write off. Do what you want."
I was there that day and responded to the crash. We were told a plane had crashed at the end of the runway, and were stunned to see the 747 floating in harbour. Having secured the passengers and crew, doing a headcount to establish we’d got everyone off the plane, it was discovered a baby was missing. The child was eventually found. The mother had handed the child to an airport worker in the mayhem of the rescue, and she’d taken it to the medical centre. All good. One point, the tail was blown off with a linear-cutting charge of plastic explosive by the Police EOD unit.
I arrived just after the tail had been removed so planes could take off, but the plane was still in the water. The next time I arrived, the plane, minus its wings was on the far side of the gates area, against the mountain. And that plane was, what, one month old? Ouch. So glad no one was killed. I really liked the new airport, especially the train to Hong Kong island. Saved me an expensive and slow cab ride.
Very happy to finally see a video about a plane crash where no one died (though almost 2 dozen were injured). That's always a monumental relief, given how tragic these accidents tend to be. And as always, very informative and detailed. Thanks for this.
It was a nice change of pace, wasn't it? Crashed into shallow water and everyone lived. Not used to happy endings here
I remember the first (and last) time I landed at Kai Tak - the year before it closed. It was amazing, feeling like you were flying through the city before touchdown. Glad I got to do it at least once before the opportunity was lost forever!
Me too, I remember the washing hanging on the balconies that seemed at the end of wing tips
As someone who lived under that flightpath (Osborn Barracks), I can tell you that you wre flying so low that people from the ground could see the pilots!
I flew YWG-YVR-HKG-SYD back in 1991-92 and yeah, it really felt like that.
i remember being able to read the newspaper being held by people in sitting in their kitchens
YOU GOT A SPONSOR!! Congrats! Your channel is very underrated, you deserve more!
I always feel like a proud father when a small channel I follow gets sponsored. Dude deserves the money for the work he puts in
I love how it went from people dogging people for "selling out" on sponsors to people genuinely being happy when they do. Probably the single greatest shift in public opinion on youtube.
Such an amazing milestone for his channel
That photo of the Canadian Airlines 747 displayed at the beginning hit me right in the nostalgia. I flew on them many times across Canada to visit my grandparents as a child, in the time before their buyout by Air Canada.
My dad retired as a captain on the 777 aircanada but flew with canadian for 15 years, that was the last airline that provided true service, coach or first class... I'm with ya on the nostalgia!
Never got to see Canadian Airlines around but really wish they were still here. Up until recently air Canada had no competition in Canada, tho now WestJet is starting to give em small trouble on certain routes.
As someone who lived at either end of Kai Tak in the eighties (Osborn Barracks and Lyemun Barracks), I am here to tell you that Concorde was NOT a regular visitor. It made a few andings for publicity / charter purposes but never operated a scheduled service to Hong Kong. Osborn Barracks was directly across the road from the world-famous red and white checkerboard; I could see it as soon as I stepped out of my block of flats.
Completely agree. Along with my lost opportunity to fly the Concorde, the impossibility of flying this approach (safely) definitely feels like a loss.
You can get close with madeira. The approach is kind of the same.
Personally i been to sxm and having planes going over my head whow i can only imagine what its like having it going that low between skyscrapers
@@skylineXpert I have family in SXM that work at the airport, I love landing there because I can see the beach goers as I land. Princess Juliana International Airport has been remodeled & looks so much bigger & amazing.
Chloe I think I’m slowly falling more and more obsessed with your content. I can’t get enough, the concise detail, the respectful manner in which the facts are presented, and your LOVELY voice make these videos an absolute treasure. Very thankful you make these for us. Please don’t give up or quit making them either. I know this video is older but I cannot get enough of it and you right now ❤❤ with so much love,
Cody 😊
My wife's parents went to Hong Kong back in the day when the approach to Kai Tak airport basically went through the buildings in the City........ my father in law said it was an absolutely phenomenal experience...... I wish I'd had the chance to do it.
Ayy. Was just looking for something to watch.
And luckily, this flew your way...
@@ashleynills7507 lol good one
YOOO MY DUDE GOT A SPONSOR LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!!!! Congrats dude! Love your videos :D
Thanks!
@@DisasterBreakdown no problem! Your videos are the best, I’m always excited for Saturdays because of them :)
This was a great video! I was expecting to hear some tragedy occurred but I was pleasantly surprised to hear no one died in this plane crash.
I also chuckled when Chloe said “oh God Sue is back 😭”
Congrats on getting a sponsor! It’s so great to see this channel grow ❤️
I lived in Kowloon in the 70's, where I lived I could see the Checkboard Hill with a radar rotating constantly and I could see clearly how the planes bank to the right immediately before reaching the Checkerboard Hill to line up with the runway for their landings at the Kai Tak Airport. At night time the Checkerboard Hill was fully illuminated, I am sure the pilots were able to see it clearly even in bad weather condition.
Well done once again.
Flew through Kai-Tak once as SLF, around 1982... fun fun. Bought my first Sony Walkman in the gift shop.
Thanks for the memories.
Oh , looking forward to watch this video .Also on another note ,maybe you should do a video on Korean Air 902 .it's a pretty underated and not really talked about air incident and not are there any documentaries/ videos relating about it.
@tom billiard well bassically it almost had the same fate as Korean air 007 ,well it got shot by the soviets however it managed to land on a frozen lake
@tom billiard well actually no as this time it was a air defense system which was followed by a fighter jet ,I think however fortunately everyone survived besides 2 fatalities
well, i bet you're happy now lol
Thank you for another fantastic video! I love to hear about these more obscure incidents.
I think I'm spoiled thanks to your content. Always something interesting to watch and my heart races everytime I see a notification of a new upload on the channel. Superb job! Keep it up!
The graphics are amazing. Makes it easy to understand all the challenges that pilots face. In my opinion, a pilot has a very heroic job, even on a regular day.
I just discovered your channel 5 days ago and I love it. I used to watch Mayday on discovery channel a lot when I was younger and this has brought back my interest in aviation. It’s also exciting to see you got your first sponsor! Congratulations! I’m looking forward to your new videos. Could you possibly cover Qantas Flight 32, A380 mid-air explosion in the future?
I remember landing at Kai Tak in '96 or '97 before they made the switch to the new airport, and thinking how close the nearby apartments were and how challenging the landing must have been for flight crew. Only the best pilots were allowed to fly this route, so I was told. Even the best are still human and make mistakes.
HE GOT A SPONSER!!!! Congrats bro, love this channel!
*she 😊
Congrats on the sponsor 👏 You've done really well building this channel up. I've been watching every Sunday morning from the start. Keep it up mate 👍 Great video
Ah, the former airport of my home.
Your details and cross references of events is so good!! It's great to watch and learn from your channel!! Well done on the sponsor and here's to getting many more 🥳🤩💯🙌
glad to see your channel growing.
Very unfortunate that I was born after Kai Tak airport closed in 1998 (I was born in 1999). I tried to ask my parents their memories of flying into HK before the airport closed down but they were sadly not very interested in aviation and haven't much to say about it 🥲 They didn't live in HK that long before I was born either, so that's understandable
As always great breakdown! I’ve watched all of your videos can’t wait to enjoy more! Keep up the great work!
I’ve randomly stumbled across this channel but I love it.
Finally, one with no fatalities! Great video as always. The voiceover is so calming.
Great video! I used to watch Kai Tak landing compilations 10 years ago, I’d watch them for hours while listening to music. If only I had time machine to watch them in person !
I'm late to this party but landing at Kai Tak was amazing. I was lucky enough to be stationed in HK for 2.5 years, late '80's early '90's. I had to fly back to London every three months and love the landing in KT on return. We absolutely loved HK and me, my wife and kids always remember it as the best posting we ever had.
Love the commentary...very precise and well spoken...research is comprehensive
Man your videos are freaking fabulous , I've seen everyone way more than once. I really want to say thank you
Really informative video thanks!
Superb video!
Glad you liked it!
@@DisasterBreakdown Did You Tube de-monetise this video?
Love your content and the way you do a deep dive into these incidents. Had to sub! Thanks.
Thank you.. I have many great memories flying in to KAI TAK. AND plane spotting on some terraces overlooking Kowloon great times!
Very detailed video here. I learned a lot
Congrats on the sponsorship! Totally deserved :)
I feel you, I always dreamed of seeing the old airport but didn't get to, I have been to the new one several times...
ahahaha, "oh god, sue's back" - great video as always, and especially glad all survived. congratulations on the sponsor too!!!
I’m totally binging this channel. Most of these I’ve heard of, but I prefer your retelling.👍🏻
Your videos are always quite educational! Also you've got some "competition"! They're great too!
We had something similar in the Philippines but its in remote area, my former school sits on top of a hill and is close to davao airport. I remember seeing planes fly above our school everyday, its so loud as its very close that the gears might touch the top of the building. I miss those days.
Keep up the great work you amazing human 👏👏👏
awesome episode as always !!!!!!!!! TYVM , Dis aster break down
I flew in and out of Kai Tak for many years as a passenger, sometimes in the jump seat of Cathay's L-1011 TriStars (usually VR-HHK or VR-HHL). Even as an observer, it was always a bit harrowing making the landing on runway 13. One day I was fortunate to get to spend some time in Cathay's TriStar simulator and got to fly the route from Kaoshiung to Hong Kong and was given the task of making the landing on runway 13. Suffice to say, my simulated crash killed hundreds of people and wrote off one TriStar. On the second attempt, although ropey, I did at least manage to get the plane down in one piece. It was a very eye opening experience and convinced me that the reason there were so few hull losses at such a difficult airport was precisely because pilots were given special training and lots and lots of practice on the approach and landing. It gave me a whole new admiration for the skill of commercial pilots who routinely made the approach look as easy as the straight in approach to runway 31.
I love the videos of from Kai Tak landings.
Looking forward to China Airlines Flight 611 breakdown video!
Good show as always...
Nice you’re finally big enough to get sponsors, congrats!
Yeah I absolutely agree with you. This video turned out VERY, VERY good. 👏👏👏
Flew into Kai Tak in September 1988 and I remember seeing the CAAC Trident in the water when we landed
love the video
That was a fantastic video
Well done on the video! Also a suggestion, can you do a video about TWA flight 800, I think it would make a great video!
I went there in last week.My dad flew in there with RAF& told me about the steep turn& chequerboard.l had to see it! Thrilling.
Just so you know... i am financially not in a position to contribute.
But i attentively listen to even your end credits and let any adverts play on any of the good channels.
Your productions are really above par👌🏽👍🏼 and we are thankful to you🤝🏻 for these.
Oooh, I just saw episode of Air Crash Investigation on NatGeo on this topic! Nice timing 😉 Good to see different approach.
I guess with such an arrangement pilots would NEED to focus more which would lead to fewer incidences where planes could be lost or damaged. It seems amazing that it would have such a good record with such an unusual setup, but that setup is the reason why it has such a good one.
Thank you for covering Kai Tak. I am sorry I won't get to see it myself, like you.
Teaching English in Japan late 80s early 90s, needed to go to HK Seoul or Bkk once a year to get our visas renewed. Had an old college buddy in HK so often used that airport. Was even scary for the passengers. SFO still is.
yesterday a plane crashed here in brazil and killed a famous and beloved singer. as soon as i heard the news it reminded me of your channel since i've been watching it a lot recently. so sad :(
I heard, its sad news to hear and a lot of people seem devastated. RIP
@@DisasterBreakdown yeah, she was a pretty huge and well known artist here, and was also super young. its truly devastating. RIP
@tom billiard a small one. the model is Beech Aircraft
@tom billiard i dont think so
@tom billiard all we know is that it hit a wire at low altitude on aproach, we dont know what made it hit the wire yet
Heyyy raking in those sponsor bucks, go you! Love your work ❤️
The new airport was also built on reclaim land and the main island was completely flattened down to put the terminals...
both airport still blew my mind sometimes...
Awesome you've got a Sponsor and an awesome one
congrats on the sponsor!! you deserve it
good work
Is the short final view shown at 5:20 too far right of the checkerboard? Possibly not, given the ground based guidance lighting-the IGS approach was always my favourite in MSFS and it was tricky to ‘perfect’ as a non-pilot. I remember when this event occurred… an almost new -400, resting in that shallow water. Superb graphics, thank you for documenting and explaining!
I love how you recreated the scene from documentary at 14:10
Congrats on getting a sponsor!
4:02 Taiwan and Hong Kong are definitely in the same time zone (UTC+8)
i was watching planes landing in the summer of '92 when i observed a plane struggling on the takeoff. it was so close to the water at end of runwsy there was a huge spray of water. i sometimes wonder what plane that was and how close they were to a water strike.
I spent two years there in the early 1970s in the RAF. I spent some of that time in the control tower at Kai Tak looking after the military/civilian helicopters and light aircraft that flew around Hong Kong and the New Territories. I'm sure it was 1973 and in monsoon season: a China Air aircraft was landing when the skies opened and a very heavy downpour happened over the runway. It must have upset the instruments and visibility as the aircraft was half way down the runway before it made a very heavy landing. The alarms were sounded in the control tower for the emergency services as the aircraft sped towards the end of the runway. It managed to veer off to the left at the very end of the runway and got stuck in the grass/mud area with its tail sticking out over the end of the runway, effectively closing the runway. I can't find anything about this incident anywhere and would be interest to read anything about it.
Another thing I would do is look around the area through binoculars - One day I noticed a Qantas aircraft revving up to take off with the back door cracked open. I called out to the controller, who told the pilot to abort and close the door properly. Don't know what might have resulted if the plane had taken off with the door not secured. In any event the air stewardess who closed the door gave me a lovely wave!
Making a turn right before landing must be the least desirous thing a pilot would want to do. There must be a way to design airports such that a long straightaway before landing can be optimized. The landing is the most dangerous part of the flight. Build airports to minimize the risk of the riskiest part of it all.
Yes, but did you miss the part about the airport being closed for 20 yrs now
...The best description of what was Hong Kong's Kai Tak Turn/"Heart Attack"...
Oh… I know now why you used P3D! It’s because Kai Tak doesn’t exist in X-Plane 11 anymore! (unless you download the scenery add-on…)
12:46 That is a cool model, did it come together with the airport scenery?
CAL611 can't be contributed to Kai Tak. That has to do with the shoddy repair instead.
Where do you get the great graphics? Do you create them yourself. They are excellent.
I flew a Cessna into Kai Tak it was a highlight of my flying career. Hong Kong light aviation was just tolerated and I had to hold for some time around Lions Rock waiting for Cathay Pacific's to take of and land. As I had only ever landed at that time in short fields, I landed on the numbers. I was told to take off and land near to the Taxi way. So I got a couple more take offs and landings . Its sad to see Kai Tak now gone to greed, But that's progress. On my Hong Kong flight I flew low over the new airport site as it was being built. I had a business friend from Hong Kong in the plane. He had never flown around his home city. He was so glad to get out and kissed the ground.
Wow every second really counts in this type of landing. No room for error practically. Thank God there were never any fatal accidents in this airport
Sue is back. The joy of Saturday is returned!
Lol I always feel sad when some of the patrons leave and their name doesn't get read out as I get used to hearing them each episode 😅
I landed in Kai Tak in July 1995 on the way to Sydney Australia...had a 16 hour wait til onward flight so paid the then required $50 HK to leave the airport for the mainland to pass some time. Couldn't believe it when I saw the planes coming in over my head, that I'd just been on that path in! I did quite clearly see residents in their apartments eating rice from bowls with chopsticks as we flew in in between the tower blocks. Crazy approach for those pilots 😱
also what is the x plane mod you used?
Sponsor #1.
4:48, the pilot's name was Wei Tu Lo!
First Officer was Sum Ting Wong.
I remember an airplane in the water at the end of the runway at Kai Tak airport. It must have been between 1967 and 1974 as I took several flights to HKG during that time. Does anyone have information about this?
So I had an idea of Kai Tak airport and all, and yeah I'd seen pictures of 747s making that iconic, bizarre approach; could have guessed other big aircraft of the day would too. As you were saying that I was like 'man imagine if Concorde came in to land here, no way' only for you to say it right after I thought that... lmao. I am very surprised that plane would come in to land here... just for the noise, runway length, landing speeds... my god that must have been a trip.
I seen this one!
The noise pollution must have been terrible for the residents an almost constant stentorian racket.
Extremely underrated channel, hope you blow up someday. Love your videos!
Two years after KaiTak airport was moved to Lantau Island in Hong Kong, the pilot union of Cathay Pacific threatened to go on strike. Cathay responded by arranging wet leases and strikebreaker pilots from China. At the end the pilot's union had to step down and accepted terms given by Cathay. It was said that the result would have been very different during the Kai Tak times. It would be almost impossible for Cathay to find enough pilots from other places who could confidently do the approach in Kai Tak .
Good reporting. Would be nice to see replies by makers of video(s).
If you watch the intro credits to "Enter The Dragon", you'll see a 747 make this approach turn. At least I think that's what's happening 🤷♂️
I use this airport a lot of times