China Airlines Flight 140 Disaster: "Fatal Approach Retry"
On a fateful day in April 1994, China Airlines Flight 140, an Airbus A300, met with a tragic end at Nagoya Airport, Japan. The flight, which departed from Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, eight minutes late, was controlled by Captain Wang Lo-chi and his first officer, Chuang Meng-jung.
The incident began when First Officer Chuang inadvertently activated the take-off/go-around (TO/GA) setting on the autopilot system, causing it to ignore the commands of the flight crew. As the plane approached Nagoya Airport, the autopilot pushed the aircraft's nose up beyond a safe angle, resulting in a stall during the final approach phase.
The flight crew tried to correct the situation by throttling the engines and pulling the yoke, but the plane started stalling. Despite attempting a manual go-around, the plane was unsuccessful due to stalling at a critical point.
The primary cause of the crash was a combination of pilot error and improper use of the autopilot system. The First Officer's mistake in autopilot engagement caused the autopilot to push the aircraft into an excessive nose-up attitude, which the crew failed to manage effectively.
Investigations revealed that the autopilot system of the aircraft did not have enough indicators about TO/GA being enabled, which contributed to the crash. Furthermore, the system failed to understand that the captain was trying to save the airplane from crashing.
The tragic incident claimed the lives of 264 out of 271 people onboard, including both Captain Wang and First Officer Chuang. The crash of China Airlines Flight 140 is known as the "Deadly Go-Around" and is considered one of the deadliest aircraft crashes in both Japan and China Airlines' history.
This unfortunate event serves as a stark reminder of the importance of proper training, adherence to procedures, and the need for clear and comprehensive indicators in aircraft systems to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
The investigation of China Airlines Flight 140's crash highlighted the need for enhanced safety measures in the aviation industry. Specifically, the inadequacy of indicators on the autopilot system regarding take-off/go-around settings was identified as a contributing factor to the tragedy. This incident underscores the role of science in improving aviation history, as advancements in technology could potentially mitigate such accidents. Moreover, the financial impact of this aviation accident is substantial, as it significantly affected both the aviation and transportation sectors. The tragic event also demonstrates the link between space-and-astronomy and aerospace, as the lessons learned from this disaster can be applied to ensure the safety of space travel and exploration.
