CAAC Flight 3303 - Misplaced Pages

1982 aviation accident

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CAAC Flight 3303
Accident
A CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident similar to the one involved.
Date	26 April 1982
Summary	Controlled flight into terrain
Site	Near Yangshuo, Guangxi, China
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Hawker Siddeley Trident
Operator	CAAC Airlines, Guangzhou division (now China Southern Airlines)
Registration	B-266
Flight origin	Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (former), China
Destination	Guilin Qifengling Airport, China
Passengers	104
Crew	8
Fatalities	112
Survivors	0

CAAC Flight 3303 or China Southern Airlines Flight 3303 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Guilin Qifengling Airport, China. It was serviced by a Hawker Siddeley Trident, registration B-266, that crashed into a mountain on 26 April 1982, killing all 112 people aboard.

Aircraft and crew

The crashed aircraft was a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E that first flew in 1975. The aircraft was owned by the Air Force but was operated by CAAC Airlines, Guangzhou division (now China Southern Airlines). The captain, Chen Huaiyao, was an experienced Chinese Air Force Trident pilot who had joined the Guangzhou General Administration of Civil Aviation of China in 1982. It was his first flight to Guilin. Co-pilot Chen Zaiwen, 31, had served in the Chinese Army and Air Force.

Accident

At 16:45, as Flight 3303 was on approach to the airport in heavy rain, the crew wanted a north-to-south approach. The airport had no radar; the air traffic controller proceeded to misjudge the distance of the aircraft from the airport, and directed the flight to descend prematurely. The plane flew into a mountain near the town of Yangshuo, exploding and breaking up on impact. The accident killed all 112 people on board.

After the accident, Yangshuo County ordered 67 militiamen to protect the crash site. A Hong Kong Observatory spokesman said at the time that the Guangzhou-Guilin area had been affected by severe weather since 25 April.

Victims

**Passengers and crew by nationality**
Nationality	Passengers	Crew	Total
China	45	8	53
Hong Kong	52	0	52
United States	2	0	2
Unknown	5	0	5
Total	104	8	112
Source: Guilin Evening News, Aviation Safety Network

The Chinese government sent nearly 1,000 troops of the People's Liberation Army to the crash site to search for survivors. The operation ended after more than a week.

There were 52 people from Hong Kong on board, 37 of whom were part of a tour group. The dead included American entomologist Judson Linsley Gressitt and his wife as well as Hong Kong TVB artist Mak Dai-Shing [zh], his wife and father-in-law's family. An unconfirmed report stated that several Japanese passengers were on board. Due to the explosion on impact, many bodies were highly fragmented.

Investigation

The Civil Aviation Administration of China and the Guangdong Provincial Government investigated the accident. The likely reason for the crash was poor crew resource management, as well as inadequate and erroneous communication from air traffic control. The captain had no experience in flying the Guilin route, and the area is noted for limestone cliffs that make landing hazardous.

Autopilot error was another likely reason for the accident as the CAAC noted that the aircraft began to bank. The flight crew only realized these issues when the aircraft was banked 45 degrees. However, they mistook the data and continued to turn the yoke. The aircraft entered a bank of 180 degrees and crashed into the mountain.

Aftermath

After the air crash, more than 40 victims were buried in a tomb located in section 022 of the Shenzhen Dapeng Bay Overseas Chinese Cemetery. The headstones have photos of the victims and their nationality. The words "April 26 Air Crash Cemetery" are written on it. The tombstone was provided free of charge by a Hong Kong investor in the cemetery named Mr. Liang. He also helped the families of the victims to pay nearly one million yuan in transportation and meals.

References

^ 1981年以来中国民航重大事故介绍 [Introduction to China's Civil Aviation Major Accidents Since 1981]. Xmyzl.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
^ "1982 "4·26"桂林空难 – 专题信息" [1982 "April 26" Guilin Air Crash – Special Information]. News.guilinlife.com (in Chinese). Guilin Life Net News Center. 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
"De Havilland's DH121 Trident production list". Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
^ Wang, Zhongqiang. ""三叉戟"四十年" [Forty Years of "Trident"]. "Fly Around the World" Magazine (in Chinese). Air Force Wings. Archived from the original on 26 April 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 2E B-266 Yangsuo". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
"第四节活动" [Section 4 Activities]. gxdqw.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
^ "Chinese Jetliner Crashes; 112 Dead". Observer-Reporter. Peking. Associated Press. 28 April 1982. pp. A-8. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
Xiong, Junhui; Zeng, Ling (6 April 2007). "深圳墓園裏的港人故事" [The story of Hong Kong people in Shenzhen Cemetery]. Wen Wei Po (in Chinese). Retrieved 30 April 2011.
"逾44万人清明扫墓三大墓园道路拥堵" [More than 440,000 tombs were congested in the three major cemeteries]. sznews.oeeee.com (in Chinese). Aoyiwang. 5 April 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2011.

External links

Aviation-safety.net
Hawker Siddeley Trident Accidents (in Chinese)
Planecrashinfo.com
NY Times
UPI archives

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982 (1982)
Jan 13 Air Florida Flight 90Jan 18 Thunderbirds Indian Springs diamond crashJan 23 World Airways Flight 30Feb 6 Korean Air Force C-123 crashFeb 9 Japan Air Lines Flight 350Feb 21 Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458Mar 11 Widerøe Flight 933Mar 20 Garuda Fokker F28 crashMar 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 217Apr 26 CAAC Flight 3303May 25 RAF Jaguar shootdown incidentMay 25 VASP Flight 234Jun 6 British Army Gazelle friendly fire incidentJun 8 VASP Flight 168Jun 12 TABA Fairchild FH-227 accidentJun 21 Air India Flight 403Jun 24 British Airways Flight 009Jun 28 Aeroflot Flight 8641Jul 6 Aeroflot Flight 411Jul 9 Pan Am Flight 759Jul 23 Twilight Zone accidentAug 11 Pan Am Flight 830Aug 14 Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collisionAug 26 Southwest Air Lines Flight 611Sep 1 Aerocondor DHC-4 Caribou accidentSep 13 Spantax Flight 995Sep 13 Bristow Helicopters Bell 212 accidentSep 17 Japan Airlines Flight 792Sep 29 Aeroflot Flight 343Dec 9 Aeronor Flight 304Dec 24 CAAC Flight 2311
1981 ◄ ► 1983

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1982 (1982)

Jan 13 Air Florida Flight 90Jan 18 Thunderbirds Indian Springs diamond crashJan 23 World Airways Flight 30Feb 6 Korean Air Force C-123 crashFeb 9 Japan Air Lines Flight 350Feb 21 Pilgrim Airlines Flight 458Mar 11 Widerøe Flight 933Mar 20 Garuda Fokker F28 crashMar 26 Aeropesca Colombia Flight 217Apr 26 CAAC Flight 3303May 25 RAF Jaguar shootdown incidentMay 25 VASP Flight 234Jun 6 British Army Gazelle friendly fire incidentJun 8 VASP Flight 168Jun 12 TABA Fairchild FH-227 accidentJun 21 Air India Flight 403Jun 24 British Airways Flight 009Jun 28 Aeroflot Flight 8641Jul 6 Aeroflot Flight 411Jul 9 Pan Am Flight 759Jul 23 Twilight Zone accidentAug 11 Pan Am Flight 830Aug 14 Sukhumi Dranda Airport runway collisionAug 26 Southwest Air Lines Flight 611Sep 1 Aerocondor DHC-4 Caribou accidentSep 13 Spantax Flight 995Sep 13 Bristow Helicopters Bell 212 accidentSep 17 Japan Airlines Flight 792Sep 29 Aeroflot Flight 343Dec 9 Aeronor Flight 304Dec 24 CAAC Flight 2311

1981 ◄ ► 1983

v t e Aviation accidents and incidents in China
Before 1950	Beijing-Han Airlines crash (March 1922) Jinan air crash (November 1931) Kweilin Incident (August 1938) Chungking Incident (October 1940) Beiping (Beijing) C-46 crash (October 1945) United States Air Force C-47 crash at Yan'an (April 1946) Miss Macao (July 1948)
1950s– 1970s	Cathay Pacific Douglas DC-4 shootdown (July 1954) Lin Biao incident (September 1971)
1980s	CAAC Flight 3303 (April 1982) CAAC Flight 2311 (December 1982) CAAC Flight 296 (May 1983) Guilin Airport collision (September 1983) CAAC Flight 5109 (January 1985) Aeroflot Flight 101/435 (December 1985) China Airlines Flight 334 (May 1986) China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 (January 1988) China Eastern Airlines Flight 5510 (August 1989)
1990s	Guangzhou Baiyun airport collisions (October 1990) China General Aviation Flight 7552 (July 1992) China Southern Airlines Flight 3943 (November 1992) China Northwest Airlines Flight 2119 (July 1993) China Eastern Airlines Flight 5398 (October 1993) China Northern Airlines Flight 6901 (November 1993) China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 (June 1994) China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 (May 1997) China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509 (February 1999) Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (April 1999)
2000s	Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 (June 2000) Hainan Island incident (April 2001) China Northern Airlines Flight 6136 (May 2002) China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 (November 2004) PLAAF KJ-200 crash (June 2006) Avient Aviation Flight 324 (November 2009)
2010s	Henan Airlines Flight 8387 (August 2010) Tianjin Airlines Flight 7554 (June 2012) Sichuan Airlines Flight 8633 (May 2018)
2020s	China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 (March 2022) Tibet Airlines Flight 9833 (May 2022)
Accidents and incidents in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not included.

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