What happened
During the approach to runway 31 at Hong Kong-Kai Tak International Airport, a Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 2E, registered B-2218, experienced a severe landing accident. The aircraft was operating as CAAC flight 301, traveling from Guangzhou-Baiyun Airport. As the plane approached the runway, the right outboard trailing edge wing flap made contact with the innermost approach light, and the right main landing gear tires struck the edge of the runway promontory.
The impact caused the right main gear to be ripped from the wing. This force briefly lifted the aircraft back into the air before it touched down again 600 meters further down the runway. Following this second contact, the plane veered and yawed to the right, sliding diagonally across the grassed strip. The collapse of the nosewheel and left main gear caused the aircraft to veer across a parallel taxiway and slide over the edge of the promontory into Kowloon Bay. The rear of the fuselage settled on stone blocks, while the forward section, including the cockpit, became partially detached and hung into the water. A fire broke out in the center engine intake duct during the event.
The accident resulted in 7 fatalities (comprising six crew members and one passenger) out of the 85 people on board.
Findings
Meteorological conditions at the time were characterized by fog and rain, which reduced visibility to 450 meters. Investigators could not definitively establish a cause, but they noted that the pilot likely transitioned to visual references before reaching decision height and chose to proceed despite deteriorating visibility caused by heavy rain. While windshear was not conclusively proven, it was considered a possible factor in destabilizing the approach.