What happened
On 16 February 1998, China Airlines Flight 676, an Airbus A300B4-622R registered as B-1814, was performing a scheduled flight from Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, Indonesia, to Taipei, Taiwan. During the approach to runway 05L at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, the aircraft encountered heavy fog and rain. The flight crew was significantly above the glide slope, maintaining an altitude approximately 1,000 feet higher than required.
As the aircraft neared the runway threshold, the pilots initiated a go-around procedure. During this maneuver, the autopilot was disengaged, and the crew transitioned to manual control. As the aircraft climbed, it experienced a steep pitch-up of approximately 40 degrees. This maneuver caused the airspeed to drop to 45 knots, leading to an aerodynamic stall. The aircraft could not be recovered and descended into a residential and industrial area in Tayuan, Taoyuan County. The impact and subsequent fire resulted in the deaths of all 196 people on board and 6 people on the ground.
Investigation
The investigation revealed that the aircraft was approaching the runway at an altitude 1,000 feet above the glide slope. Despite this deviation, the approach was continued. The investigation noted that the go-around was only initiated when the plane was very close to the runway threshold. During the transition to manual flight, the pilot had moved the yoke forward without realizing the autopilot had been disconnected, which contributed to the unstable flight path during the climb.