Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316

Korean Air Cargo Flight 6316 (KE6316/KAL6316) was a scheduled Korean Air Cargo freight flight from Shanghai to Seoul. On 15 April 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operating the route, registered as HL7373, crashed in Xinzhuang, Shanghai shortly after taking off from Hongqiao Airport, killing all 3 crew on board, along with 5 on the ground.

Accident

Loaded with 86 tons of cargo, the MD-11F operating Flight 6316 took off from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport at around 4:00 pm. The flight crew consisted of Captain Hong Sung-sil (Korean: 홍성실; Hanja: 洪性實) (54), First Officer Park Bon-suk (박본석; 朴本錫) (35), and flight engineer Park Byong-ki (박병기; 朴炳基) (48). After taking off, the MD-11F received clearance to climb to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) after the first officer contacted Shanghai Departure.

As the aircraft climbed to 4,500 feet (1,400 m), the first officer told the captain that the required altitude should be 1,500 feet (460 m), thinking that the aircraft was 3,000 feet (910 m) too high. Therefore, the captain pushed the control column abruptly forward, causing the aircraft to descend at over 34,000 feet per minute (10,000 m/min). At 4:04 pm, the aircraft became uncontrollable due to the steep dive and eventually crashed into an industrial zone in Xinzhuang, which is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi; 5.4 nmi) southwest of Hongqiao Airport. The aircraft impacted the ground and exploded. Along with the 3 South Korean crew on board, 2 pupils and 3 migrant workers on the ground also perished. The crash was recorded by the nearby Shanghai Earthquake Administration which indicated that the impact forces had generated an equivalent of a 1.6 magnitude earthquake.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter with the registration HL7373 and serial number 48409, powered by three Pratt & Whitney PW4460 engines. Built-in February 1992, this aircraft was delivered to Korean Air on March 24, 1992, as a passenger aircraft. In 1996, the aircraft was converted to a freighter.

Investigation

On April 27, 1999, the primary investigation revealed no evidence of an explosion or mechanical failure before the impact. In June 2001, further investigation carried out by CAAC showed that the first officer had confused 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), the required altitude, with 1,500 feet (460 m), causing the pilot to make the wrong decision to descend.

In almost all countries, aviation altitudes are measured in feet in compliance with the ICAO convention. Only China, Russia, North Korea, and some nearby countries use metres.

See also

• Korean Air incidents and accidents
• National Airlines Flight 102 – also crashed shortly after takeoff.
• Air India Flight 855
• Avient Aviation Flight 324 – another air disaster occurred in Shanghai, also involving an MD-11F.
• Air China Flight 129 – occurred in Busan three years after the Shanghai crash.
• Korean Air Cargo Flight 8509 – another Korean Air Cargo plane that crashed shortly after takeoff from London Stansted Airport eight months after the Shanghai crash.
• Air Canada Flight 143 – another aviation incident caused by the confusion between Metric and Imperial measurements

Footnotes

References

External links

• PlaneCrashInfo.Com – Entry on KE6316
• AirDisaster.Com – Entry on KE6316^[usurped] (Archive^[usurped])
• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
• "Loss: Korean Air Boeing MD-11F – HL-7373" (Archive Alternate archive). Flight International. 15 April 1999.

1. Korean Air
2. Korean Air Flight 631
3. Korean Air incidents and accidents
4. List of accidents and incidents involving airliners by location
5. McDonnell Douglas MD-11
6. Avient Aviation Flight 324
7. Unit of measurement
8. List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
9. Xinzhuang, Shanghai
10. List of aircraft accidents and incidents by number of ground fatalities
11. 1999 in China
12. List of fatal accidents to commercial cargo aircraft
13. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport