Korean Air Flight 6316 Crash (HL7373)

Incident Overview and Flight Details On April 15, 1999, Korean Air cargo flight KE6316, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F with Korean registration HL7373, departed from runway 18 at Shanghai-Hongqiao International Airport for Seoul, Korea. The aircraft carried two pilots and one flight technician. Takeoff occurred at 16:01:35 Beijing local time (08:01:35 UTC). The autopilot was disengaged 1 minute and 7 seconds after takeoff, at 16:02:42. Following disengagement, the aircraft initially maneuvered to the right, maintained level flight at approximately 200° track for over 30 seconds, and then maneuvered back to the left. The crew was subsequently cleared to climb to 1,500 meters (4,900 feet). During this climb, the aircraft turned to NHW** at 900 meters (3,000 feet). The aircraft passed 1,310 meters at 16:04:15. After reaching 1,370 meters (4,500 feet) at 16:04:19, the aircraft executed a very rapid descent and disappeared from the airport SSR screen. According to measurements by the Shanghai Seismic Bureau, the aircraft crashed into the ground at 16:04:35. The accident site was located 11.6 kilometers from the airport runway, with a site azimuth of 165° from the center of the runway centerline. The aircraft was totally destroyed. All three crew members were killed, along with five people on the ground. Thirty-six other people were injured, four of them seriously.