University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, October 3, 1990
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127 killed in crash in China
The Associated Press
CANTON, China — Officials said at least 127 people were killed and 46 others seriously injured yesterday when a hijacked Chinese jetliner cartwheeled into two parked jets at the Canton airport.
"The plane split the jets into pieces," said a Chinese man who witnessed the crash. "It was a horrible explosion. The whole sky went red and the airport shook like an earthquake."
Money, passports, watches and clothes were scattered along the tarmac. The crash occurred at 9 o'clock and balloons waited late into the night.
A Western survivor said there was a struggle in the cockpit of the hijacked Boeing 737 as it landed at Baiyun International Airport, caused by a sudden engine failure. Boeing 707 and a Boeing 757 full of passengers bound for Shanghai.
Other unconfirmed reports said two hijackers. Chinese men who
Civil Aviation Authority of China spokesperson, Wang Chunfu, said only one Chinese man was responsible for the hijacking.
wanted to force the plane to Hong Kong or Taiwan, exploded a bomb on the jet.
wang told a news conference 127 people died in the crash and 48 people were seriously injured. He said 100 people, including the injured, survived.
The accident was the worst publicly acknowledged air disaster in China.
Among those killed, he said, were foreigners and Chinese from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan He declined to release further details.
Although it was a domestic flight from Ziamen to Canton, at least two United States citizens were on the bijacked plane, U.S. Embassy spokesman Sheridan Bell said. Erin Lynne Thomas of Oklahoma City, Okla., was hospitalized in good condition with a broken limb, he said. She
reported a second woman from the United States had been sitting next to her, but Bell said the second woman was missing.
An airport security officer, who identified himself only as Chen, said the pilot tricked the hijackers into believing they were leaving China, but the hijackers realized the truth as theet approached Canton.
As the hijackers argued with the pilot, Chen said, the plane circled the airport for about 40 minutes. Then it crashed.
Western diplomats said 104 people, including 10 crew members, were aboard the hijacked plane. Diplomats said they learned of only nine survivors, including the woman from the United States.
At least 150 people were aboard the Boeing 757 parked on the runway, the airport security official said. He said there was a crash that the airport also killed aboard that flight.
"We have at least 200 people dead or injured," he said.
Jet's cargo door found by U.S. sub
The Associated Press
HONOLULU — A submarine has retrieved the top half of the cargo door that ripped away from a United Airlines jetliner last year, sucking nine people to their deaths, a Navy speskeperson said yesterday.
The discovery ends a needle-in-a-haystack search of the Pacific Ocean floor. The submarine Sea Cliff recovery team has discovered an underwater cave.
The three-man mini-sub and its support ship were expected to return to Pearl Harbor yesterday.
The Sea Cliff located and recovered the top half Monday evening from 14,100 feet of water 90 miles south of Honolulu, lifting the wreckage with its hydraulic jaws, and Pacific Fleet spokesperson Sandy Stairs.
The door will be turned over to the National Transportation Safety Board, which wants to know why it tore away from United Flight 811 shortly after takeoff from Honolulu International Airport on Feb. 24.
The Boeing 747 carried 355 passengers and was bound for New Zealand. Shortly after takeoff, the cargo door opened at 22,000 feet, sweeping nine passengers from the plane. The crew managed to fly the damaged jet back to
After investigators examine the recovered debris, it will be sent to the Boeing Co. in Seattle for a more thorough investigation.
A preliminary examination showed the door had fractured lengthwise near its middle latch. The eight parts of the latch lock were all in the locked position and were deformed
The NTSB has determined that faulty design of a locking mechanism probably caused a cookpit light to falsely indicate the door was locked. The safety board wants to examine the door to confirm its findings.
It asked the Navy to find the door in hopes that an examination could lead to better safety standards.
Satellite aids navigational accuracy
The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The Air Force has added a ninth navigation satellite to an orbiting network capable of pinpointing U.S. military units anywhere in the world to within 50 feet.
A Delta rocket blasted off with the $65 million Navstar satellite at 5:56 p.m. Monday. About 25 minutes later, the satellite separated from the booster as planned and settled in an orbit 12,323 miles above Earth.
"Everything appears to have gone well." said Air Force Lt. Col. Jim
Jannette. Two launch attempts late last week were delayed by bad weather.
The 3,657-pound satellite is part of a series of advanced Global Positioning System spacecraft designed to guide warplanes, ships and other aircraft. The first Navstar was launched in February 1989.
Fifteen more Navstar satellites are scheduled to be launched by early 1993 under the $8.5 billion program. Three will serve as spares.
The satellites, which have a work-
The spacecraft can pinpoint locations within 50 feet in any weather anywhere in the world — in some locations, within 10 feet.
Military personnel use receivers as small as telephones to tune into the network.
Seven earlier, less sophisticated satellites still are functioning.
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