Date & Time:
Jun 6, 1994 at 0822 LT
Type of aircraft:
Tupolev TU-154
Operator:
Registration:
B-2610
Flight Phase:
Takeoff (climb)
Flight Type:
Scheduled Revenue Flight
Survivors:
No
Site:
Plain, Valley
Schedule:
Xi'an - §Guangzhou
MSN:
86A740
YOM:
1986
Flight number:
WH2303
Country:
China
Region:
Asia
Crew on board:
14
Crew fatalities:
14
Pax on board:
146
Pax fatalities:
146
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
160
Aircraft flight hours:
12507
Aircraft flight cycles:
6651
Circumstances:
Twenty-four seconds after takeoff, while climbing, the crew encountered controllability problems. The captain contacted ATC and reported uncommanded rolled left and right up to 30°. The aircraft continued to climb but reached a high angle of attack when it nosed up to 20°, activating the stall warning alarm. The aircraft reached the altitude of 4,717 metres then rolled to the left, pitched down to an angle of 65° and entered an uncontrolled descent. At a speed of 747 km/h, the aircraft descended to the altitude of 2,884 metres in 12 seconds then suffered structural deformation and failure before crashing in an open field located 29 km southeast of Xi'an Airport. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all 160 occupants were killed.
Probable cause:
It was determined that the loss of control was the consequence of poor maintenance. The previous evening, the autopilot yaw-channel had been erroneously connected to the bank control and the bank-channel to the yaw control, after maintenance was completed at an unapproved facility.
