Air China Flight 129
Crash site of Air China Flight 129 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 15 April 2002 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Mount Dotdae near Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Korea 35°13′58″N 128°55′41″E / 35.2327°N 128.9280°E |
| Aircraft | |
| B-2552, the aircraft involved in the accident, seen in 1991 | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 767-2J6ER |
| Operator | Air China |
| IATA flight No. | CA129 |
| ICAO flight No. | CCA129 |
| Call sign | AIR CHINA 129 |
| Registration | B-2552 |
| Flight origin | Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China |
| Destination | Gimhae International Airport, Busan, South Korea |
| Occupants | 166 |
| Passengers | 155 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 129 |
| Injuries | 37 |
| Survivors | 37 |
Air China Flight 129 (CCA129/CA129) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by Air China, from Beijing Capital International Airport to Gimhae International Airport in Busan. On 15 April 2002, the aircraft on this route, a Boeing 767-200ER, crashed into a hill named Mount Dotdae near Gimhae Airport, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.
The Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board published the final report in March 2005 and concluded that the crash was due to pilot error. The final report stated that the crew was inadvertently flying below the minimum safe altitude. Detailed information from the report also revealed that the pilots had been trained to conduct a circling approach in the airline's simulator only for Beijing Capital International Airport and never for a circling approach to Gimhae Airport's runway 18R. Subsequently, the report also blamed the tower controllers at Gimhae Airport for not using the tower BRITE and MSAW systems after losing visual contact with the aircraft. The Civil Aviation Administration of China responded to South Korea's official report by pointing out that Park Junyong, the ATC official during the accident, was not licensed for air traffic control and issued incorrect orders due to his inexperience with the Boeing 767.
The plan to build a new airport in the southeastern region was brought forward because of this accident.
Flight 129 was recorded as the deadliest aviation accident in South Korea until the crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 in 2024, that killed 179.