Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103

Not to be confused with Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104.
Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103
The aircraft involved in the accident, while still in service with United Airlines, in 1974
Accident
Date22 August 1981 (1981-08-22)
SummaryMetal fatigue cracking and severe corrosion, leading to explosive decompression and in-flight break-up
SiteNear Sanyi Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-222
OperatorFar Eastern Air Transport
IATA flight No.FE103
ICAO flight No.FEA103
Call signFAR EASTERN 103
RegistrationB-2603
Flight originTaipei Songshan Airport
DestinationKaohsiung International Airport
Occupants110
Passengers102
Crew8
Fatalities110
Survivors0

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103 was a flight from Taiwan Taipei Songshan Airport to Kaohsiung International Airport that crashed on 22 August 1981, killing all 110 people on board. The Boeing 737-222 aircraft disintegrated in midair and crashed in the township of Sanyi, Miaoli. It is also called the Sanyi Air Disaster. The crash is the third-deadliest aviation accident on the Taiwanese soil, behind China Airlines Flight 676 and China Airlines Flight 611.[1]

The cenotaph of the Far East Air Transport Flight 103 accident
Monument listing the names of the victims

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-222 registered as B-2603 with line number 151 and manufacturer's serial number 19939.[1]

Summary

The aircraft had previously lost cabin pressure on 5 August; and earlier on the day of the crash, it had departed Songshan Airport, but the crew aborted the flight 10 minutes later for the same reason. After repairs were made, the aircraft departed Songshan Airport again bound for Kaohsiung International Airport. 14 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft suffered an explosive decompression and disintegrated. The wreckage was scattered across an area 4 miles (6 km) long, located some 94 miles (151 km) south of Taipei. The nose section landed in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County. Other debris landed in the townships of Yuanli, Tongluo, and Tongxiao. Of the 110 people on board, one passenger was found alive but died on the way to a hospital; in the end, no one aboard survived.[2] After the accident, due to it occurring in a mountainous region, road traffic was backed up. The remains of the victims were driven to the Shengxing railway station, from where they were transported by train.[3]

Cause

Although early speculation indicated that the crash was caused by an explosive device, an investigation by the Republic of China Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that severe corrosion led to a pressure-hull rupture. The severe corrosion was due to the many pressurization flight cycles the aircraft had experienced, and that cracks produced were probably undetected.[4]

Victims

Nationality Passengers Crew Total
Taiwan 82 8 90
Japan 18 0 18
United States 2 0 2
Total 102 8 110

Notable victims

  • Kuniko Mukōda, a Japanese TV screenwriter, was heading to Kaohsiung for a festival.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-222 B-2603 Miao-Li". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  2. ^ "AIRLINER THAT CRASHED IN TAIWAN, KILLING 110, HAD PRESSURE SNAGS". The New York Times (Late City Final ed.). Associated Press. 23 August 1981. p. 3. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  3. ^ "U.S. Experts to Probe Crash". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press. 30 August 1981. Retrieved 6 January 2012.
  4. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-222 B-2603 Miao-Li". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Around the World; One Body Still Missing In Taiwan Air Disaster". The New York Times. Associated Press. 24 August 1981. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 April 2021.