An Air China plane yesterday narrowly missed flying into a mountain in Hong Kong after the pilot allegedly made a wrong turn, according to Chinese media.
An Air China plane yesterday narrowly missed flying into a mountain in Hong Kong after the pilot allegedly made a wrong turn, according to Chinese media.
Air China said that the flight crew of CA428 ‘had doubt’ about the instructions from the air traffic controller and they made the turn after receiving a confirmation (file photo)
Photo: DailyMail
It’s reported that the pilot had failed to understand the instructions from an air traffic controller and veered towards the mountain minutes after takeoff.
The Airbus A320 plane had to make a mid-air emergency turn to avoid the mountain, reports said. It landed in Chengdu two hours later with no casualties.
The flight in question has been reported to be Air China flight CA428, from Hong Kong to Chengdu.
Hong Kong news website Apple Daily reported that the plane made a left turn at around 3,000 feet high two minutes after departing from Hong Kong International Airport.
A map on the flightrader24 shows that CA428 had to make a sharp turn to avoid flying into a mountain on June 4 after taking off from Hong Kong International Airport Photo:Flightradar24
According to information on flight tracking website flightrader24, the turn was different from the usual flying route of CA428.
Previous data indicated that the plane normally takes the turn after reaching the Zhujiang River Estuary.
Previous data indicated that the plane normally takes the turn after reaching the Zhujiang River Estuary. Above is the flying route of the same flight on June 3 Photo:Flightradar24
After the turn, it appeared that CA428 was flying towards the 3,066-foot-tall Lantau Peak, the second highest peak in Hong Kong. The iconic Tian Tan Big Buddha is also situated on the highland of Lantau Island.
Hong Kong media reported that the plane made a left turn at around 3,000 feet high and was flying towards the 3,066-foot-tall Lantau Peak and Tian Tan Big Buddha (pictured) Photo:Dailymail
An audio clip, believed to be from an air traffic controller in Hong Kong, has also emerged online.
In the clip, a female controller is heard telling the Air China plane in English to ‘turn right immediately’ and ‘expedite climb’ to avoid the terrain.
Media reports suggested that the pilot of CA428 had not understood the previous instructions from the air traffic control. Therefore, he made the wrong turn.
Air China is the flag carrier of the People’s Republic of China.
Reports suggested that the Air China pilot made a wrong turn after failing to understand the instructions from the Hong Kong air traffic controllers (file photo) Photo:Dailymail
A customer representative from the company confirmed that CA428 took off from Hong Kong International Airport at 9:07pm and landed in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 11:21pm.
In response to the incident, Air China said in a statement that the flight crew of CA428 ‘had doubt’ about the instructions from the air traffic controller during the climb.
‘As the radio frequency is busy, [the flight crew] made the turn in advance after receiving a confirmation, this caused [the plane] to leave the usual air route temporarily,’ the statement continued.
Air China said that the flight crew ‘corrected the course after being reminded by the air traffic controller’.
The incident did not trigger a terrain warning or any safety issues, according to Air China. The company added that it would further strengthen its safety education.
It remains unclear how many passengers were on the flight.
