Crash: Asiana B744 near Jeju on Jul 28th 2011, fire in cargo hold
By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Jul 28th 2011 05:33Z, last updated Thursday, Jul 28th 2011 14:28Z
An Asiana Cargo Boeing 747-400, registration HL7604 performing flight OZ-991 from Seoul (South Korea) to Shanghai (China) with 2 crew, was enroute near Jeju Island (about 250nm south of Seoul) when the crew reported the cargo in the hold had caught fire and they needed to divert to Jeju Airport, then the aircraft disappeared from radar. Parts of a wing and other debris were located 130km/70nm west of Jeju. Both crew were killed.
South Korea's Transport ministry reported, the Boeing 747-400 freighter was carrying 58 tons of cargo including 0.4 tons of hazardeous materials like Lithium batteries, paint, amino acid solution and synthetic resin. The crew had reported the cargo on fire with Shanghai Center and was diverting to Jeju Airport when it crashed about 70nm west of the Island at 04:12L (19:12Z Jul 27th), 67 minutes after it had taken off Seoul.
South Korea's Coast Guard reported both crew members were killed.
The flightplan identified Boeing 747-400 registration HL7604.
Asiana reported that radar contact with HL7604, manufactured Feb 2006, was lost at 04:11L when the aircraft was at 7600 feet MSL, the crew had reported control problems. The captain (52) had 14,123 hours flying experience, the first officer (44) had 5,211 hours flying experience. All cargo, 90% of which was standard cargo and IT products, the remainder comprised liquids (e.g., paint, resin solution, ...), was in compliance with IATA regulations.
A listener on frequency of Shanghai's Air Traffic Control Center reported, that the Asiana had just checked in with Shanghai when the crew reported they had a fire in the cargo hold, Shanghai's Pudong Airport was too far away, their only possible point of diversion was Jeju. The crew's distress was clearly audible and increasing during the transmissions.
An Shanghai Center Air Traffic Controller reported that the first indication of problems was the aircraft's transponder transmitted the emergency code just prior to the crew reporting on frequency near SADLI waypoint (N31.833 E124.998). The crew reported they had a cargo fire and requested to return to Seoul. The aircraft was handed off to the next sector while it was descending, the controller however watched the aircraft on his radar screen until it descended through 2400 feet and disappeared from the screen.
Debris floating off Jeju Island (Photo: AP):
Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth):
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