China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210
China Eastern Airlines Flight 5210 (CES5210/MU5210), also known as the Baotou Air Disaster, was a flight from Baotou Erliban Airport in Inner Mongolia, China to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport with a planned stopover at Beijing Capital International Airport. On 21 November 2004, just two minutes after take off, the Bombardier CRJ-200ER fell from the sky and crashed into a lake in Nanhai Park, next to the airport, killing all 53 people on board and 2 more on the ground.[1]
.jpg) A China Eastern Airlines CRJ-200ER similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 November 2004 |
| Summary | Atmospheric icing leading to loss of control |
| Site | Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China |
| Total fatalities | 55 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Bombardier CRJ-200ER |
| Operator | China Eastern Airlines |
| Registration | B-3072 |
| Flight origin | Baotou Erliban Airport |
| Stopover | Beijing Capital International Airport |
| Destination | Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport |
| Occupants | 53 |
| Passengers | 47 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 53 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 2 |
An investigation by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) revealed that the plane had not been de-iced by the ground crew while it was parked on the tarmac. Ice accumulation on the wings caused the plane to lose its lift, causing the crash. It is the deadliest accident involving a CRJ-100/-200.[2]
Accident
Flight 5210 was operated by a Bombardier CRJ-200ER, SN 7697, which was powered by two General Electric CF34-3B1 engine which was delivered in November 2002, 2 years prior to the crash. At the time during accident, the plane was still wearing China Yunnan Airlines livery, despite the airline merges with China Eastern Airlines in 2003. The plane took off at 08:21 local time, 15 minutes ahead of schedule, carrying 47 passengers and 6 crew members. Ten seconds after lifting off, the airplane shook for several seconds and then fell to the ground. The plane skidded through a park and crashed into a house, a park ticketing station, and a port, setting fire to several parked yachts. It then plunged into an icy lake. All 53 people on board and 2 park employees on the ground were killed in the crash.[1]
Search and rescue
President Hu Jintao, who was out of the country at the time of the disaster, ordered an immediate rescue operation.[3] More than 100 firefighters were dispatched to the crash site. Also sent to the disaster site were 250 police officers, 50 park staff, and 20 divers. Rescuers had to break through the ice to retrieve bodies. By the end of the day, crews had recovered 36 bodies from the frozen lake. According to a doctor who worked in a nearby hospital, rescuers had only recovered bodily organs and intestines of victims.[4]
Rescue efforts were hampered by the low temperatures. By the day after the crash, most of the plane had been recovered from the lake. A team of rescue experts from the Ministry of Communications' Maritime Bureau also arrived at the crash site on 22 November.[5] On 24 November, investigators located the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder by the radio pings that the devices emanated.[6][7]
Passengers and crew
On 23 November, the flight's passenger manifest was released by China Eastern officials. Of the 47 passengers on board, 46 were Chinese. Officials confirmed that there was only one foreigner on board, from Indonesia.[8] The flight crew members were identified as Captain Wang Pin (王品), Vice Captain Yang Guang (杨光), and First Officer Yi Qinwei (易沁炜) plus two flight attendants and a security officer.
Investigation
Many witnesses stated that the plane shook for several seconds, and then exploded in mid-air. According to one witness, a blast occurred at the tail of the plane. Smoke began to pour from the plane before it crashed into the park, becoming a fireball, and then skidded across the park and into the lake. Others claimed that the plane exploded into "flaming fragments" in the air before it crashed.[9]
The crash occurred just three months after the bombing of a Tupolev Tu-154 and a Tupolev Tu-134 over Russia, which killed a total of 90 people. At the time, investigators of the Russian bombings found traces of explosives aboard the two planes. Investigators at the crash of Flight 5120, however, stated that they did not find any evidence of terrorism, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.[9]
Weather at the time of the crash was good, although the temperature was below 0 °C. A resulting hypothesis that ice particles in the fuel caused the disaster was later disproven.
Further investigation revealed that the accident aircraft had been parked overnight at Baotou Airport in cold weather, causing a layer of frost to form on its exterior. The aircraft was also not de-iced prior to the flight. During takeoff, the frost contamination severely degraded aerodynamic performance, and as the jet rotated, it entered a stall from which the flight crew was unable to recover.
Aftermath
In 2006, twelve China Eastern Airlines employees were found to be responsible for the accident and received administrative punishment.[1]
China Eastern no longer operates the route of the accident. All flights between Baotou and Shanghai are now operated by its subsidiary Shanghai Airlines as Flights 9438 and 9136 (to Pudong). Flight number 5210 was re-assigned to a Shantou-Shanghai flight.
References
- Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- Ranter, Harro. "Aviation Safety Network > ASN Aviation Safety Database > Type index > ASN Aviation Safety Database results". aviation-safety.net. Archived from the original on 2019-04-25. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
- 胡锦涛温家宝黄菊就东航坠机事件作出重要指示 [Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Huang Ju made important instructions on the crash of China Eastern Airlines] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- 苍天无情 人间有爱—写在“11·21”空难发生后 [Heaven is ruthless, there is love in the world - written after the "11. 21" air crash] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- 民航总局：包头空难调查结果要经得起历史鉴定 [Civil Aviation Administration of China: Baotou air crash investigation results must withstand historical appraisal] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- 千呼万唤始出来 包头空难“黑匣子”打捞侧记 [Thousands of calls come out. Baotou air crash "black box" salvage side note] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- 飞机“黑匣子”是橙红色的 重约20–30公斤 [The aircraft "black box" is orange-red and weighs about 20–30 kg.] (in Chinese). People's Daily. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- "China plane crash kills 54". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
- "China: No evidence terrorism downed plane". NBC. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 12 July 2017.