Investigation Summary
The accident occurred during a period of exceptionally violent weather. Local weather stations recorded 451 thunderclaps within a ten-minute window while the aircraft was holding. Despite the first officer's proposal to divert to an alternate airport, the captain elected to continue the approach to Wuhan. The investigation highlighted that both the flight crew and air traffic control violated standard operating procedures for severe weather operations. The aircraft, a Chinese-built Xian Y-7 based on the Antonov An-24, was approximately two-thirds through its service life at the time of the crash. The impact was so severe that the fuselage split into two major sections; the crash site itself was located between 20 and 30 kilometers from Wuhan, with wreckage falling on a river dike and a farmhouse.
Final Conclusions
The primary cause was a loss of control due to severe atmospheric turbulence, specifically windshear and a lightning strike. Contributing factors included poor decision-making by the captain, who ignored the first officer's suggestion to divert, and the failure of both the crew and air traffic controllers to adhere to safety protocols regarding flight in extreme weather conditions.
Video Analysis
No video analysis linked for this case file yet.
Airframe & Maintenance
Systems & Failure Modes
Weather Radar
Used by the crew to navigate around storm cells; however, the crew continued into a known area of severe turbulence.
Airframe
The aircraft suffered structural failure or loss of control due to extreme environmental forces (lightning and windshear).
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft had recorded 13,811 flight hours and 11,724 cycles prior to the accident.
- 02Seven people on the ground were killed when the aircraft struck a farmhouse and a vessel where workers were installing generators.
- 03The CAAC grounded all Wuhan Airlines Xian Y-7 aircraft immediately following the crash.
- 04The Xian Y-7 was ordered to be removed from scheduled passenger service in China by June 1, 2001, as a result of this accident.
- 05The aircraft was a Xian Y-7-100C, a Chinese-produced version of the Soviet Antonov An-24.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Fleet Grounding
The CAAC grounded Wuhan Airlines' remaining six Xian Y-7 aircraft for safety inspections and additional crew training.
Type Retirement
The CAAC mandated the removal of all Xian Y-7 aircraft from scheduled passenger service by June 2001.