Synopsis
Flight 801 departed from Seoul-Kimpo International Airport (now Gimpo Airport) on August 5 on its way to Guam. Headed by 42-year old Captain Park Yong-chul (Hangul: 박용철, RR: Bak Yong-cheol, M-R: Pak Yongch'ŏl), who had recently won a flight safety award for negotiating a 747 engine failure.
The flight experienced some turbulence in its early stages but was otherwise uneventful until shortly after 1:00am on August 6, as the crew was preparing for landing. Heavy rain over Guam have caused visibility to be reduced drastically. With that in mind, the crew decided to come in on instrument approach landing. Air traffic control cleared the flight for runway 6L, advising them that the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on runway 6L was not in service. This meant that the crew would need to have more manual control when coming in for a landing. As the aircraft started its decent in a step method, the crew were blinded many times by the weather and loosed sight of the runway. Shortly after, the aircraft crashed into Nimitz Hill, about 3 miles (5km) short of the runway, at an altitude of 660 feet (201 m).
Aviation crash video
Part 1 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 18 August 2011 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Part 2 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 18 August 2011 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Part 3 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on18 August 2011 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Part 4 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube 18 August 2011 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Part 5 of 5
Video embedded from YouTube on 18 August 2011 (see Cineflix, undated-a1)
Flight information
Date : 06 AUG 1997
Time : 01:42
Type : Boeing 747-3B5
Operator : Korean Air
Registration: HL7468
Crew: Fatalities: 22 / Occupants: 23
Passengers: Fatalities: 206 / Occupants: 231
Total: Fatalities: 228 / Occupants: 254
Airplane damage: Written off
Location: near Guam-Agana International Airport (GUM) (Guam)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Seoul-Gimpo (Kimpo) International Airport (SEL/RKSS), South Korea
Destination airport: Guam-A.B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM/PGUM), Guam
Click here to read about the causal factor of fatigue in this accident.
