The tragic rain, thinly and muffled, silently floated on the open field. In the wheat fields and rice fields, the wreckage of the main body of the plane is scattered. At a glance, countless relics are scattered in people's field of vision. In the air, the smell of jet fuel irritates people's nasal passages and makes people upset. This is the scene on the morning of June 6, 1994.
On the same day, the aircraft of China Northwest Airlines was Su Zhitu-154M B2610 flight WH2303, which was on the flight from Xi'an to Guangzhou. One survived.
This rare air crash in the history of China's civil aviation shocked the province, city, General Administration of Civil Aviation and the State Council. That afternoon, Vice Premier Zou Jiahua of the State Council rushed to the scene, and by 21:00 in the evening, the remains of all 160 victims were found. Among the 160 people killed in the air crash of flight WH2303, except for the 14 crew members of Northwest Civil Aviation (5 pilots and 9 flight attendants), 146 passengers were killed, including 133 mainland passengers, 3 Hong Kong passengers, and 1 Taiwan passenger. 9 foreign passengers. Among the 133 mainland passengers, the vast majority were from Xi'an.
China Northwest Airlines Su Zitu-154M B2610
Event playback
08:00 in the morning: After boarding the flight crew of flight 2303, the standard procedures for the series of flights before take-off were all Verification was carried out.
At 08:13 in the morning: Flight 2303 took off smoothly from Xi'an Xianyang Airport. From the taxiing until the nose lift speed reached V2, the aircraft's instruments did not show any abnormality.
At 08:14 in the morning: 24 seconds after flight 2303 flew off the ground, the entire body had an abnormal fluttering motion with a great amplitude, and then the crew reported to the tower on the ground that there was no other abnormal noise when the plane swayed. In the voice recording in the cockpit of the plane, it was obvious that the body made a "squeak" sound.
08:15 am: Flight 2303 is maintaining a climbing attitude at a speed of 400 kilometers per hour,At this time, the aircraft body swayed left and right, and the amplitude increased again. The crew reported to the ground tower that "both people could not stabilize the flight attitude of the aircraft".
08:16:24 in the morning: The flight crew of flight 2303 reported to the ground tower again: "The plane is out of control, the abnormal noise is getting louder and louder, and the swing surges to 20 degrees."
08:16:58 a.m.: The flight crew of flight 2303 continued to report to the ground tower that "the plane swing reached 30 degrees".
08:18:06 in the morning: The crew of flight 2303 saw that neither of them could change the abnormal attitude, so they could only turn on the autopilot, hoping that the aircraft could perform a self-recovery. After 5 seconds, it was found that the plane's sway continued to increase, and the crew had to immediately disconnect the autopilot.
08:19 am: Flight 2303 has automatically deviated from its intended climb path and began to make an irregular turn to the right. At this time, flight 2303 had reached an altitude of 4717 meters above sea level, and the climb speed was also very slow.
08:20 am: The flight crew of Flight 2303 was busy with the control of the aircraft while requesting assistance from the ground tower, but no one remembered the various checklists and recovery procedures to deal with immediately.
08:21 in the morning: Xin Tiancai, the captain and instructor of flight 2303, replaced the co-pilot Yang Min, and controlled the plane together with the captain Li Gangqiang. However, the sway of the plane has been increasing, and the cockpit also has an alarm sound due to the excessive tilt angle.
08:22:27 in the morning: Flight 2303 suddenly raised its head, its elevation angle reached 20 degrees, but the flight speed dropped to 380 kilometers per hour. The stall alarm continued to sound in the cockpit.
08:22:30 in the morning: Flight 2303 suddenly started rolling to the left, and then entered a high-angle, high-speed dive, and the roll angle reached 70 degrees at one point.
08:22:30 in the morning: Flight 2303 rapidly descended from 4,717 meters above sea level to 2,884 meters above sea level in 12 seconds, with an average drop of 150 meters per second, far exceeding the aircraft's established tolerance standards, and the overspeed warning was issued. The sound resounded completely throughout the cockpit.
08:22:42 in the morning: The voice recording in the cockpit of flight 2303 suddenly heard a loud noise when the body broke, and even the black box stopped recording. The plane disintegrated directly in the sky at an altitude of 2884 meters. The crash site at this time was only 49 kilometers away from Xi'an Xianyang Airport.
Cause of the crash
In less than an hour, about 3,000 or 4,000 medical staff from the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Government, the local garrison, armed police force, public security officers and more than 10 hospitals rushed to the scene one after another.
Flight 2303 after disintegration and crash is about 200 meters west of Zuitou Village, Mingdu Town, Chang'an District, Xi'an City. On the farmland or wheat fields and river beaches outside the village, debris such as the main plane wreckage and the bodies of the victims were scattered on the ground with a diameter of 7 kilometers.
After the on-site investigation, autopsy examination, safety inspection, and investigation visit of the public security department and relevant technical personnel, it can be determined that the crash of Flight 2303 was not caused by an explosive explosion or deliberate sabotage.
And the weather of flight 2303 after take-off is also in full compliance with the flight conditions, radar, navigation and communication are in normal operation, the control password on the ground is also very clear, fully in line with the relevant regulations, and the ground duty personnel also meet the job requirements, so this This air accident was not caused by weather, communication or navigation.
According to the annual medical examination report in 1994, all crew members of flight 2303 fully met the medical examination standards for Chinese civil aviation pilots. within the specified validity period. Not only that, the 2303 flight is also equipped with two crews to fly.
Finally, after various investigations, simulation experiments, and the wreckage collected from the crash site of Flight 2303, an accurate conclusion was drawn: because the two plugs on the aircraft's autopilot mount were reversed to each other, That is, the rudder control socket (yellow) is inserted into the aileron control plug (green), and the aileron control socket (green) is inserted into the rudder control plug (yellow).As a result, after the autopilot is connected, the ailerons move in the opposite direction, which makes the air resistance of the aircraft increase abnormally, and the aircraft body resonates and disintegrates.
Lessons learned from the accident
Flight 2303 disintegrated and crashed in mid-air. Although the crew did their best when the plane was out of control, they did not fully follow the provisions of "Flight Manual 8.8.3".
At the same time, it also fully exposed that Northwest Airlines has major loopholes in the maintenance work: 1. Aircraft maintenance personnel are operating without a license; 2. When maintaining certain key parts of the aircraft, there is no relevant safety regulations Operating procedures and inspection regulations.
The air accident that could have been completely avoided, but caused a catastrophe just because the wrong plug was inserted. After the "biggest air accident in the history of China's civil aviation", the procuratorate and the supervisory department were directly responsible for and Other relevant responsible persons have been investigated and prosecuted.
China Northwest Airlines, which was established on December 6, 1989 and headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, was one of the six backbone airlines in China, and it has gone downhill since then. Eight years later, according to the reform and reorganization plan of China's civil aviation system in 2002, China Eastern Airlines Group acquired Northwest Airlines, making it the "Northwest Branch of China Eastern Airlines".
Soviet Tutu-154M aircraft
The "super killer" Soviet Tutu-154M aircraft was officially put into use in 1972. It is the first Russian passenger aircraft designed according to Western standards, with a service life of 30,000 flight hours , 154M passenger aircraft can be installed up to 180 seats. Since its launch, this airliner has been involved in a staggering number of air crashes, with a crash rate of 3%.
China used to have 31 Soviet-made Tu-154M aircraft. After 15 years of service, October 31, 2002 was the last day of operation of the China United Airlines aircraft, which also meant that it flew in the Chinese sky. The 15-year-old Su Tu-154M aircraft completely bid farewell to China.
Remembering the deceased,Pray for peace
There have been many air crashes in history, and there are many reasons for them. Some are as bizarre as the Guilin Air Crash, and some are caused by arson like the Dalian Air Crash, but there are very few people who think about the Xi'an Air Crash. .
No one knows, who will come first in the accident and tomorrow. For normal people, the cruelty of accidental disasters lies in "accidents", in the coming of an unprepared, devoured death.
No matter young or old, common people or dignitaries, mediocre people or elites in the industry, in the face of unexpected disasters, this time is absolute equality, and the red dust will disappear in a blink of an eye. For the living, it is also a process of re-recognition of the concept of human life, from which one can truly appreciate the fragility and contingency of life.
Tomorrow is June 6, 2020, which is also the 26th anniversary of the flight 2303 incident. For those who have passed away and those who are still alive, all we can do is: cherish the memory of the deceased and pray for peace!
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