Investigation Summary
The aircraft was performing an ILS approach to Runway 05L in foggy conditions. The approach was too high, and the Captain attempted to push the nose down, which triggered the autopilot to disconnect. Crucially, the crew did not realize the autopilot had disengaged and expected the aircraft to fly the go-around automatically. When the Captain initiated the go-around by advancing the throttles, the aircraft's trim settings caused a massive pitch-up. For 11 seconds, no manual inputs were made to correct the pitch. The aircraft reached a 42.5-degree pitch angle, stalled at 2,751 feet, and plummeted into a nearby village.
Final Conclusions
The primary cause was the crew's failure to recognize the autopilot disconnection and their subsequent failure to manually fly the aircraft during the go-around. Contributing factors included poor coordination (CRM), lack of situational awareness regarding the aircraft's state, and inadequate training on the specific autopilot override characteristics of the Airbus A300.
Video Analysis
Dynasty of Ruin | The Crash of China Airlines Flight 676 — A detailed analysis of the crash of China Airlines Flight 676, exploring the human factors and technical nuances of the Airbus A300 autopilot system.
Watch on YouTube ↗If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Systems & Failure Modes
Autopilot (AFCS)
The system disconnected when the pilot applied manual pressure to the yoke, but the crew failed to notice the visual and aural warnings.
Trimmable Horizontal Stabilizer (THS)
The stabilizer was trimmed for a high nose-up position during the approach, contributing to the extreme pitch-up during the go-around.
Interesting Facts
- 01All 196 people on board were killed, along with 6 people on the ground.
- 02The Captain had over 7,200 flight hours, but the crew suffered from a total breakdown in CRM.
- 03The aircraft was only 7 years old at the time of the accident.
- 04The crash occurred just four years after the similar China Airlines Flight 140 accident in Nagoya.
- 05The aircraft struck several houses and a fish pond during the impact sequence.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Autopilot Logic Review
Airbus issued service bulletins to clarify the conditions under which the autopilot would disconnect and the importance of monitoring flight director commands.
Enhanced CRM Training
China Airlines overhauled its pilot training programs to emphasize Crew Resource Management and manual handling skills during go-around maneuvers.