China Airlines Flight 611
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A China Airlines 747-200 similar to the one involved in the accident, in a previous livery
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 25 May 2002 |
| Summary | In-flight break-up due to maintenance error & metal fatigue |
| Site | 20 nautical miles (37 km) northeast of Makung, Penghu Islands, Taiwan Strait 23°59′23″N 119°40′45″E / 23.98972°N 119.67917°ECoordinates: 23°59′23″N 119°40′45″E / 23.98972°N 119.67917°E |
| Passengers | 206 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 225 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-209B |
| Operator | China Airlines |
| Registration | B-18255 |
| Flight origin | Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan, Taiwan |
| Destination | Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong |
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China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight from the former Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) in Taiwan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong. On 25 May 2002, the Boeing 747-209B operating the route disintegrated in mid-air due to faulty repairs and crashed into the Taiwan Strait 23 nautical miles (43 km) northeast of the Penghu Islands 20 minutes after takeoff, killing all 225 people on board. The in-flight break-up was caused by improper repairs to the aircraft 22 years earlier. As of January 2016, it remains the most recent accident involving a Boeing 747 to result in passenger fatalities, the deadliest accident in Taiwanese history, and the deadliest since the loss of American Airlines Flight 587 in 2001, until the loss of Air France Flight 447 (an Airbus A330) in 2009.
The accident was particularly disturbing to the public as the Taipei–Hong Kong route was and still is one of the most heavily traveled air routes in the world; it is so profitable that it is even referred to as the "Golden Route".
The flight took off at 15:08 local time (07:08 UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Hong Kong at 16:28 HKT (08:28 UTC). The flight crew consisted of 51-year-old Captain Ching-Fong Yi (易清豐; I Cingfong}), 52-year-old First Officer Yea Shyong Shieh (謝亞雄; Syieh Yasyong), and 54-year-old Flight Engineer Sen Kuo Chao (趙盛國; Jhao Shengkuo). The names of the pilot and first officer, respectively, are alternatively romanized as "Yi Ching-Fung" and "Hsieh Ya-Shiung". All three pilots were highly experienced airmen – the captain and first officer each had more than 10,100 hours of flying time and the flight engineer had clocked more than 19,100 flight hours.
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