Fatal Go-Around Accident at Taipei-Taoyuan Airport (B-1814)

Approach and Go-Around Decision After an uneventful flight from Denpasar-Ngurah Rai Airport, the aircraft was on a night approach to Taipei-Taoyuan Airport in marginal weather. Conditions included limited visibility of 2,400 feet, an RVR of 3,900 feet, a 300-foot broken ceiling, and 3,000-foot overcast. During final approach to runway 05L in light rain and fog, the aircraft was 1,000 feet too high on the glide at 1,515 feet altitude, prompting the captain to initiate a go-around. The autopilot was disconnected, but the crew failed to correct the pitch-up attitude for unknown reasons. The aircraft passed the runway threshold at 1,475 feet with go-around thrust applied. It rapidly pitched up to +35° and climbed through 1,723 feet at 134 knots. The landing gear had just been raised, and the flaps were set to 20°. The aircraft continued climbing to 2,751 feet before its speed dropped to 43 knots, causing a stall and an uncontrolled descent with a pitch-down to 44.65°. The crew appeared to regain control as the aircraft rolled right at a 20° angle 2–3 seconds before impact. The aircraft struck the ground 200 feet to the right of the runway 05L centerline and 3.7 km from the threshold, crashing into 12 houses. The aircraft disintegrated on impact, killing all 196 occupants, including five U.S. citizens, one Indonesian, and one French national. Seven people on the ground were also killed.