A 737-400 similar to the accident aircraft
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Accident summary | |
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Date | July 26, 1993 |
Summary | CFIT, weather conditions |
Site |
Ungeo Mountain near Mokpo, Korea 34°42′30.66″N 126°18′38.66″E / 34.7085167°N 126.3107389°ECoordinates: 34°42′30.66″N 126°18′38.66″E / 34.7085167°N 126.3107389°E |
Passengers | 110 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 68 |
Survivors | 48 |
Aircraft type | Boeing 737-5L9 |
Operator | Asiana Airlines |
Registration | HL7229 |
Flight origin | Seoul-Gimpo International Airport (SEL) |
Destination | Mokpo Airport (MPK) |
Asiana Airlines Flight 733 (Flight OZ733, registration HL7229) was a domestic Asiana Airlines passenger flight between Seoul Gimpo International Airport (SEL at the time) and Mokpo Airport (MPK), South Korea. The flight carrying 110 passengers along with six crew members departed Seoul at 14:37 for a short flight to Mokpo Airport. On approach to runway 06, the aircraft crashed into a ridge, Mt. Ungeo, at 800 feet (240 m) on July 26, 1993, at 15:48. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-5L9, failed to land twice in bad weather (heavy rain and wind) and crashed on the third attempt, causing the deaths of 66 passengers and two crew members. Mokpo Airport was only equipped with VOR/DME.
There were three Japanese nationals and two American nationals among the passengers, many of whom were vacationers heading for the popular summer resort there off the Yellow Sea, the airline said. The pilot, Hwan In-ki, died in the crash. Chung Jong-hwan, the director general of the Ministry of Transportation, said that Hwan's actions caused the crash. An inquiry found pilot error was the cause of the crash when the plane began a descent while it was still passing over a mountain peak. The flight recorders were found and they recorded that after the third attempt, the pilot told the control tower that he was veering off course. The twin-engine plane then disappeared from the radar at 3:41 PM.
Flight 733 had the highest death toll of any aviation accident in South Korea at that time. It was surpassed by Air China Flight 129, which crashed on April 15, 2002, with 129 fatalities. It was also the highest death toll of any accident involving a Boeing 737-500 at that time. It was surpassed by Aeroflot Flight 821, which crashed on September 14, 2008, with 88 fatalities.