What happened
During a nighttime flight across the Taiwan Strait, an aircraft traveling from Taipei toward Hong Kong vanished from radar tracking. The crew did not transmit any emergency signals or distress messages prior to the disappearance. Following the loss of contact, wreckage was discovered the following morning floating in the waters near the Penghu Islands (Pescadores Islands), Taiwan.
There were 25 fatalities in the accident, with no survivors reported from the aircraft. Among those who perished was the Brazilian Ambassador to China. Reports from individuals on the ground suggested that the aircraft broke apart while still in flight.
Findings
Investigations into the disaster concluded that the aircraft experienced an in-flight disintegration caused by an onboard explosion. While it was determined that a bomb was responsible for the destruction of the plane, the identity of the perpetrator and the motive behind the act of terrorism were not established.