page_title: China Airlines Flight 605
section_title: Accident
hierarchical_section_title: China Airlines Flight 605 / Accident
caption_attribution_description: Saffir-Simpson Hurricane ScaleTDTS12345 English: Typhoon Ira 1993 track. Uses the color scheme from the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
context_page_description: China Airlines Flight 605 was a daily non-stop flight departing from Taipei at 6:30 a.m. and arriving at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong at 7:00 a.m. local time. On November 4, 1993, the plane went off the runway while landing during a storm. It was the first hull loss of a Boeing 747-400.
context_section_description: Flight 605, touched down more than 2,100 feet (640 m) past the runway's displaced threshold, at a speed of 150 knots (280 km/h; 170 mph), following an IGS runway 13 approach.  Tropical Storm Ira was generating 20-knot (37 km/h; 23 mph) crosswinds on that runway, gusting to 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph), from a heading of 070 degrees.
  The pilots received several computer-generated wind shear and glide slope deviation warnings, and observed severe airspeed fluctuations, during the last mile before touchdown. The captain, who was the pilot flying, disconnected the auto-pilot and began flying the plane manually. He also disconnected the auto-throttle as he was unsatisfied with its performance. After the aircraft landed the First Officer took control of the plane and attempted to keep the aircraft on the centerline. However his inputs were too severe and the Captain was forced to aid him. Meanwhile, the Captain inadvertently increased engine power rather than activating the thrust reversers. The auto brakes were set at only the number two level and then were turned off seconds after touchdown due to the increase in power. The speedbrakes were extended briefly, but then retracted, also due to the power increase. This caused the plane to "float," making the brakes ineffective until the speed brakes were extended again. When the First Officer finally noticed that the auto-brakes were disarmed and the thrust reversers had not deployed, the captain immediately applied manual braking and thrust reversal.  
  The captain deliberately turned the plane to the left when he realized the plane would overrun the runway and hit the approach lighting system (ALS) for runway 31.  That action caused a "ground loop", making the plane slide off the left side of the runway into Victoria Harbour, thereby preventing a collision with the ALS for runway 31.  The plane came to rest in shallow water, with a heading of almost 180 degrees out from the direction of runway 13.
  A British Airways pilot had refused to make the approach to Kai Tak runway 13 minutes before the CAL 605 captain decided to attempt it.
  The investigation indicated that the accident was caused by the captain's failure to initiate the mandatory missed approach procedure when he observed the severe airspeed fluctuations, combined with the wind shear and glide slope deviation alerts. The first officer was also found to not have enough experience to handle the aircraft while landing in crosswind conditions. China Airlines was also criticized for not having a clear crosswind landing procedure in their manuals to aid pilots. The investigation recommended that the airline revise its manuals and flight training.
caption: Track of Tropical Storm Ira
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