page_title: Singapore Airlines Flight 006
section_title: Crash
hierarchical_section_title: Singapore Airlines Flight 006 / Crash
caption_attribution_description: English: Diagram, north side and runway 05 Chiang Kai-shek International Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) and route of Singapore Airlines Flight 006 中文（简体）‎: 图，北边和05跑道中正国际机场（现为台湾桃园国际机场）和路线，新加坡航空公司的航班006 中文（繁體）‎: 圖，北邊和05跑道中正國際機場（現為台灣桃園國際機場）和路線，新加坡航空公司的航班006 日本語: 図は、蒋介石国際空港（現・台湾桃園国際空港）北側の滑走路05およびシンガポール航空006便の地上走行経路
context_page_description: Singapore Airlines Flight 006 was a scheduled Singapore Airlines passenger flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan. On 31 October 2000, at 23:17 Taipei local time, the Boeing 747-412 operating the flight attempted to take off from the wrong runway at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport during a typhoon. The aircraft crashed into construction equipment on the runway, killing 81 of the 179 occupants aboard. Ninety-eight initially survived the impact, but two passengers died later from injuries in a hospital. As of 2020, the accident is the third-deadliest on Taiwanese soil. It was the first fatal accident involving a Boeing 747-400 and the only fatal accident involving the passenger variant, it is also the first and only Singapore Airlines crash to result in fatalities.
context_section_description: At 15:00 UTC, 23:00 Taipei local time on 31 October 2000, 9V-SPK left Bay B5 during heavy rain caused by Typhoon Xangsane. At 23:05:57, ground control cleared the aircraft to taxi to runway 05L via taxiway SS WC then NP. At 23:15:22, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff on runway 05L. Many carriers in Southeast and East Asia take off during inclement weather.
  After a six-second hold, at 23:16:36, the crew attempted takeoff on runway 05R – which had been closed for repairs – instead of the assigned runway 05L (which ran parallel to 05R). The captain correctly acknowledged that he needed to take off at 05L, but he turned 215 metres (705 ft) too soon and lined up with 05R. The airport was not equipped with ASDE, a ground radar that allows the air traffic controllers to monitor aircraft movements on the ground.
  Due to poor visibility in the heavy rain, the flight crew did not see that construction equipment, including two excavators, two vibrating rollers, one small bulldozer, and one air compressor, had been parked on runway 05R. In addition, the runway contained concrete Jersey barriers and pits. About 41 seconds later, the aircraft collided with the machinery and broke into three major pieces. The fuselage was torn in two, and the engines and landing gear separated. A crane tore the left wing from the aircraft, forcing the jet back onto the ground. The nose struck a scoop loader, with a following large fire, destroying the forward section of the fuselage and the wings. Seventy-nine of 159 passengers and four of 20 crew members died in the accident. Many of the dead were seated in the middle section of the aircraft; the fuel stored in the wings exploded and incinerated that section. At 23:17:36, the emergency bell sounded and 41 firefighting vehicles, 58 ambulances, nine lighting units, and 436 personnel were dispatched to assist survivors and extinguish the fire. Chemical extinguishing agents rained on the aircraft at about three minutes after the impact. At 23:35, roughly 10 minutes after the impact, the fire was brought under control. At 23:40, non-airport ambulances and emergency vehicles from other agencies congregated at the north gate. At 00:00 Taipei time on 1 November, the fire was mostly extinguished and the front part of the aircraft was destroyed. Authorities established a temporary command centre.
caption: 3D Diagram of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport and the taxi path of Singapore Airlines Flight 006. The dotted green line indicates the correct path to Runway 05L. The yellow arrow indicates the path to Runway 05R. The red path indicates the fatal takeoff path.
exif: {}