Naim 6 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Passenger jet engulfed in flames From correspondents in Tokyo August 20, 2007 12:36pm Article from: Agence France-Presse * China Airways passenger jet engulfed in flames * Had just landed at Naha airport, Japan * Not immediately clear if all passengers safe A CHINA Airlines passenger jet burst into flames in Japan today and it was not immediately clear if everyone had got off the Taiwanese airliner safely. Giant flames and plumes of black smoke erupted from the Boeing 737 after it landed from Taipei at Naha airport on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa. Firefighters were spraying water and foam on the aircraft, which had turned into little more than a burnt-out skeleton that had collapsed into pieces, television footage showed. "I saw passengers getting out of the airplane. And then there were four explosions,'' a witness told Nippon Television. Passengers may be trapped The fire department said that everyone appeared to have exited the plane, but that authorities could not rule out some people still being on board. "It seems that passengers and crew members have been evacuated. But while it is unclear, there is the possibility that about four people may have still been in there,'' a fire department official said. Jiji Press said it was possible that the four people were crew members and may have been injured, but that information was unconfirmed. Loud explosions Public broadcaster NHK said that 155 passengers had taken the flight from Taipei to Naha. There was no immediate information on what caused the explosions. Kyodo News, quoting national police, said there was no information it was a terrorist attack. Television reports said loud explosions were heard from the aircraft shortly after it landed in Okinawa, a popular resort destination which lies closer to Taiwan than Tokyo. In Taiwan, officials from China Airlines were not immediately available for comment. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22274821-2,00.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Yong 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Just wacth the news just now!! luckily all the passagers are safe!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeeTZ 1 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 TOKYO (Reuters) - A plane belonging to Taiwan's China Airlines Ltd. exploded and caught fire soon after landing on Japan's southern island of Okinawa on Monday, but officials said all 165 people on board had escaped safely. The Boeing 737-800 plane, which had just arrived from Taipei, was already being evacuated when the left engine exploded, ripping the plane apart, officials and witnesses said. "I saw several passengers evacuate from the plane using a chute. After a minute or so, I heard the sound of an explosion. It was a big explosion," said Tadahiro Hasuo, who told NHK he felt the heat of the blast while passing the airport in a taxi. The charred remains of the plane lay broken on the tarmac near the terminal after the flames were extinguished, an hour after the explosion. The nose of the plane sagged on its side, while the tail -- emblazoned with the airline's pink plum blossom symbol -- was intact at the other end. In between, the blackened remains of the interior could be seen, with much of the roof of the plane gone. Early investigations raised the possibility that leaking fuel may have caught fire. "We don't have any information that suggests the accident was linked to terrorism. There is a possibility of the engine exploding and catching fire due to a fuel leak," a Naha airport police official told Reuters. One member of the ground crew had been injured, Kyodo news agency reported. The airline said the plane, which had 157 passengers and eight crew, had just undergone scheduled maintenance. "Everything was working according to normal procedure. There was nothing wrong during the flight," China Airlines spokesman Johnson Sun told reporters. China Airlines has a troubled safety record with four deadly accidents in the past 13 years, including a crash in the Japanese city of Nagoya in 1994 in which 264 people were killed. Okinawa is a popular spot for beach holidays and the number of visitors to Japan from other parts of Asia has increased in recent years, with the lifting of visa restrictions. (Additional reporting by Isabel Reynolds and Leika Kihara in Tokyo and Ralph Jennings in Taipei) http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/i...0070820?sp=true luckily all safe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
izhar 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Picture and video can be found at this link: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/2007/08/20/k20070820000071.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chan CS 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Hey Izhar thanks for your link! And it's really sad to see a plane lying there... And it was a horrible fire... Herm... Could it be terrorist's work again? China Airline... Not again... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonathan Kong 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Rego B-18616 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneeze Lam 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Injected a/c : B-18616 All B738s in Taiwan have now disallowed for providing service by the aviation authority. An A330 has been sent to Okinawa for the return flight to Taiwan. Not know if it will be a good news to you guys in KUL that you can have more chance for A330/A340 from Dynasty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ian Lim 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 aww gosh..it's 737 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sneeze Lam 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Updates: News said, the right engine was exposed due to oil leakage. And before the aircraft landing, cockpit crews have reported to the tower that the engine may have problems. Mins after touched down, fires out and exposed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yusoff 1 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Not know if it will be a good news to you guys in KUL that you can have more chance for A330/A340 from Dynasty. PEN receiving their 737 daily. would this means we at PEN would be getting A330/A340 as well? hmmm... an A340 would be great!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seth K 3 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Consider water sprinkler next time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Saw this on TV at our staff cafeteria this noon: Time stamp on top right corner of screen shows NHK japan time at 10.30am All onboard have been reported to be safe. This CI 120 carried 157 passengers (2 kids, 19 japanese, 24 non-japanese foreigners) + 8 crew. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Azmir I. 1 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Water wont do any good if its a fire caused by high oil temp or fuel.But then again its a flaming B737NG!!!!haha! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teoh Z Yao 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 It's so heart wrenching to see fire consume a beautiful plane... I have seen CI 738/9 many times at PEN and many of my friends/relatives have boarded them... And yesterday I was just thinking trying out new planes by flying a PMDG CI 738/9 TPE-PEN... Today we hear tragic news... Glad that all passengers were evacuated in time... Poor 738... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S V Choong 4 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 (edited) Can't help to notice the title "China Airways passenger jet...." Sorry Naim, being a bit pedantic here. Thanks for the news. Herm... Could it be terrorist's work again? Don't think so, the terrorist won't be interested in Taiwan. Unless is their next door bigger neighbour haha... Edited August 20, 2007 by S V Choong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Teh 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 got a photo of her in KUL last year, and now it's gone.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 (edited) Assorted pics in GIF format. Within 2 hours after accident, Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council immediately ordered grounding of all 737s operated by CI. Edited August 20, 2007 by Denny Yen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Isaac 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Oh no. China Airlines again ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S V Choong 4 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 (edited) Seems like China Airlines had confirmed that No. 2 engine was on fire. Funny thing is from the pics, the left engine (No. 1) suffered more damage than the No. 2. Ditto Isaac, CI again....how unfortunate. Edited August 20, 2007 by S V Choong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kenneth T 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Gosh...what happen to the B737NG? China Airlines does not have a safe records..if we look into the company history. Seeems like this plane have to scrapped and RIP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 (edited) Latest pic from tonight...a sad sight. Details emerged from CI Japan's news conference: - ground crews were the first to notice leaking fuel, tower informed pilots - a/c came to a stop and pilot shut down engines. - evacuation completed within 3 mins...CCTV footage also showed a man trying to extinguish the engine flames with a handheld extinguisher. - fire started in the right engine and started burning. Fuselage's middle section burst into flames...CCTV footage showed the FO sliding from the cockpit window as the 1st explosion occurs. Preliminary comments: 738 uses aviation fuel with high combustion, and usually they don't explode in the manner like CI 120. However, the hot engines could have caused the explosion. From earlier today. Edited August 20, 2007 by Denny Yen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sanjay Thaker 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 A sad sight. The fire engulfed the entire aircraft and its looks worse than it sounds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Csin 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 Haih, it's a crash again... Hope that NTSB will do their investigation soon, N can learn from mistake... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Ong 1 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 (edited) A total loss of that 737NG for CI. Edited August 20, 2007 by Andrew Ong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Samuel Chy 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2007 now she just like a "ikan panggang" (grilled fish)... so sad..... btw, fortunately all passenger are safely evacuate from the aircraft. also fortunately the aircraft not burst into flames when landing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
