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Three devastating crashes over an eight-year span, 1994 to 2002, with a combined 685 fatalities; a record that could easily bankrupt an airline. However, China Airlines (Taiwan's flag carrier) not only survived these horrific events but changed and flourished. They improved pilot training and communication, and built a more robust safety culture, and in 2023, China Airlines won Global Traveler magazine’s “Best Airline in North Asia” award.
Cover: The aftermath of the 26 April 1994 China Airlines accident at Nagoya Airport, Japan. The plane stalled and crashed on approach to land due to pilot error and and poor training, the accident report said.
Below: The photo shows the damaged empennage of China Airlines Flight 006. Wikipedia explains what happened: China Airlines Flight 006 was a daily non-stop flight from Taipei to Los Angeles International Airport. Following the failure of the No. 4 engine, while cruising at 12,500 meters, the plane rolled over and plunged 9,100 meters experiencing high speeds and g-forces as high as 5g before the captain was able to recover from the dive, and then to divert to San Francisco International Airport.
Below: The plane that made a miraculous recovery was the one in this image, a Boeing 747-SP.Via Wikimedia Commons.
Below: The roll and pitch attitudes and time the events occurred. Anyone on that plane was almost certainly sure they were not going to make it, yet luck and pilot skill made this a story with a happy ending.
Below: The crash site at Nagoya Airport, Japan. Read about the sad fate of China Airlines Flight 140 HERE.
Below: Flight 140 seat map. Only seven people survived the accident.
Below: The scene after the fatal China Airlines Flight 676 accident. The plane was returning to the international airport in Taoyuan, when during an landing attempt, the aircraft stalled, and crashed into a residential neighborhood, bursting into flames. All 196 people on board were killed as well as six people on the ground. The victims on the plane included the governor of Taiwan's central bank and his wife, as well as the family of the pilot. Photo via Medium (Article titled: Dynasty of Ruin: The crash of China Airlines flight 676)
WATCH via YouTube: China Airlines Flight 676 - Crash Animation
WATCH via YouTube: Who's Flying The Plane | China Airlines Flight 676/Allec Joshua Ibay
Below: We didn't cover this story, but those who are interested can read up on China Airlines Flight 605, the flight overshot the runway at Hong Kong's old airport, Kai Tak. Fortunately, no one was killed.
Below: The early days – China Airlines Boeing 727-09C at Singapore International Airport in 1974.
Below: This China Airlines plane, a B-1836, photographed taxiing at Kai Tak Airport became known for its role in a major historical event. On August 21, 1983, China Airlines Flight 811, from Taipei, landed in Manila, one of the passengers on board the flight was Philippine opposition senator Benigno Aquino Jr., who was returning from a self-imposed exile in the United States. Aquino was assassinated after being escorted from the aircraft. His wife, Corazon Aquino, became the 11th president of the Philippines (1986-1992), after what's called the People Power Revolution, ended the two-decade reign of President Ferdinand Marcos.
Song played at the end is an edited version of "Beautiful Island" by Kristin Lekven Hafell.
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Check our very first episode, the story of a very white man who showed up in London in 1703... and claimed to be from Formosa. Or try a foodie episode from Season 3. Or, for those who want some harder-core history, hear the tale of the Lockheed U-2 pilot Wang Hsi-chueh 王錫爵, who became famous for defecting to the PRC by hijacking China Airlines Flight 334 on May 3, 1986.
