Korean Air Flight 801
The accident site | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | August 6, 1997 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site | Bijia Peak, Asan-Maina, near Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam, United States 13°27′19″N 144°43′58″E / 13.45528°N 144.73278°E |
| Aircraft | |
| HL7468, the aircraft involved in the accident, in 1985 | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-3B5 |
| Operator | Korean Air |
| IATA flight No. | KE801 |
| ICAO flight No. | KAL801 |
| Call sign | KOREAN AIR 801 |
| Registration | HL7468 |
| Flight origin | Gimpo International Airport, Seoul, South Korea |
| Destination | Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam, United States |
| Occupants | 254 |
| Passengers | 235 |
| Crew | 19 |
| Fatalities | 229 |
| Injuries | 25 |
| Survivors | 25 |
Korean Air Flight 801 (KE801, KAL801) was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air, from Gimpo International Airport, Seoul to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam. On August 6, 1997, the Boeing 747-300 operating the flight crashed on Bijia Peak, south of Nimitz Hill, in Asan-Maina, Guam, while on approach to the destination airport, killing 229 of the 254 people aboard, making it the deadliest aviation accident to occur in American dependent territory, and the fourth-deadliest aviation accident on American soil overall, excluding terrorism.
The National Transportation Safety Board cites poor communication between the flight crew as the probable cause of this accident, along with the captain's poor decision-making on the non-precision approach.