1990 passenger aircraft hijacking and crash in Guangzhou, China
On 2 October 1990, a
hijacked
Boeing 737
, operating
Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301
, collided with two other aircraft on the runways of the
old Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
while attempting to land. The hijacked aircraft struck parked
China Southwest Airlines
Flight 4305
first, inflicting only minor damage, but then collided with
China Southern Airlines Flight 3523
, a
Boeing 757
waiting to take off, flipping onto its back. A total of 128 people were killed, including seven of nine crew members and 75 of 93 passengers on Flight 8301 and 46 of 110 passengers on Flight 3523.
Hijacking of Flight 8301
[
edit
]
Xiamen Airlines
Flight 8301, operated on a
Boeing 737-200
,
[1]
was hijacked by Jiang Xiaofeng (
simplified Chinese
:
??峰
;
traditional Chinese
:
蔣曉峰
;
pinyin
:
Ji?ng Xi?of?ng
), born 11 August 1969 in
Linli County
,
Hunan
[2]
[3]
on Tuesday, 2 October 1990. Jiang, a Chinese 21-year-old purchasing agent, was seeking
political asylum
in Taiwan.
Prior to the hijacking and shortly after the aircraft took off from
Xiamen
, Jiang approached the cockpit, holding flowers. The security guards let him in; a
Time
article stated that the guards probably let him through because they believed that Jiang was offering flowers to the pilots as a
Moon Festival
gift. The article stated that reportedly, once in the cockpit, he opened his jacket to reveal what appeared to be
explosives
strapped to his chest. The article added that Jiang ordered all crew members out of the cockpit, except for the pilot,
[4]
Cen Longyu,
[2]
whom he directed to fly to
Taipei
,
Taiwan
. The pilot did not comply, instead continuing toward the original destination of
Guangzhou
. Reports from the official
Xinhua News Agency
did not explain why the pilot did not accede to Jiang's demand.
[5]
Communication with the flight was lost. It was finally re-established by
the airport in Guangzhou
, which authorized the pilot to land at any airport available, inside or outside the PRC. The pilot stated that the only other airport that the aircraft still had sufficient fuel to reach was
Hong Kong
. Guangzhou flight controllers agreed to allow the plane to land in Hong Kong, refuel, and proceed to Taipei. Jiang refused to allow this, and threatened to blow up the aircraft if it landed in Hong Kong. The pilot circled Guangzhou, attempting to reason with Jiang. He was eventually forced to land the plane when it ran dangerously low on fuel.
[2]
Landing and collisions
[
edit
]
Moments before landing, Jiang managed to wrestle control of the aircraft from the pilot. The 737 landed at an excessive speed, and sideswiped a parked China Southwest Airlines
Boeing 707-3J6B
which had just arrived from
Chengdu
as China Southwest Airlines Flight 4305, slightly injuring the pilot, who was in the cockpit at the time.
[6]
Still unable to stop, the out-of-control 737 collided with China Southern Airlines Flight 3523,
[7]
a
Boeing 757
[8]
waiting to depart to
Shanghai
, before flipping over onto its back and skidding to a halt.
[9]
On the Xiamen Airlines 737, seven of the nine crew members and 75 (including 30
Taiwanese
, three people from
Hong Kong
and one
American
) of the 93 passengers died.
[1]
On the China Southern 757 aircraft all 12 crew members survived and 46 of 110 passengers died.
[8]
Of the passengers who died in the 757, eight were from Taiwan.
[10]
A total of 128 people died in the disaster,
[5]
including Jiang, the hijacker of the Xiamen Airlines aircraft.
[4]
The hijacker
[
edit
]
Jiang was once arrested for theft in September 1988. While working as a purchasing agent in 1990, he fled on 13 July with
RMB
17,000 which was given to him for purchasing goods for his company. He was wanted by the police at the time of the hijacking.
[3]
Two months earlier, on 29 September, Jiang checked-in at a hotel near the Xiamen borders. The next day, he booked a seat on the flight he would go on to hijack. Jiang checked out of the hotel around 6 a.m. on the morning of 2 October and headed to the airport. He was seen wearing a black suit and black dress shoes, carrying a black suitcase, and holding plastic roses. Jiang was the last to board the plane. He was sitting at seat 16D.
[11]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Areas
| |
---|
Landmarks
| |
---|
Transport
| |
---|
History
| |
---|
Education
| Tertiary
| |
---|
Primary/Secondary
| |
---|
|
---|
This list is incomplete.
|
Aviation accidents and incidents in China
|
---|
Before 1949
| |
---|
1950?1979
| |
---|
1980s
| |
---|
1990s
| |
---|
2000s
| |
---|
2010s
| |
---|
2020s
| |
---|
|
|
---|
|
Diplomatic posts
| |
---|
Diplomacy
| |
---|
Conflicts
| |
---|
Incidents
| |
---|
Legislation
| |
---|
Organizations
| |
---|
Concepts
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|
Non-political mass violence in China
|
---|
Arson
| |
---|
Bombings
| |
---|
Shootings
| |
---|
Stabbings
| |
---|
Vehicular
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|