Zeno~SPARTA~ Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 I used to work in Hong Kong from 1990 to 1994. Our offices were in Admiralty Centre then Pacific Place. Both locations had magnificent views of the harbour, Kowloon and Kai Tak airport, as well as the Naval docks. Kai Tak was closed in 1998, and was replaces by Chek Lap Kok on Lantau island. Even though I flew to HK after I moved to NY I only ever flew to Kai Tak. As I recall all my flights were in 747s or L1011s. In 1993 a China Airlines (Taiwanese national carrier) 747 400 attempted to land at Kai Tak, but made several mistakes and did not stop before the runway ended. The plane ended up in the sea, EVERYONE SURVIVED. I did not see the plane run into the sea, but did see the aftermath. The plane was 5 months old and was written off. Kai Tak was a uniquely dangerous airport and only the best pilots from each airline were allowed to land there. As a passenger you feel you can touch the buildings in Kowloon as the plane banks sharply to the right to line up with the runway. As I recall, all take off and landings were always seaward. The tail assembly of the jumbo obstructed the runway for departing aircraft, closing the airport, so it was blown off with explosives. The incident has been recreated in FSX with explanations of what went wrong. I came across it whilst perusing youtube. I have added another video of an actual landing. In the second video note the hill at 3:05 which is used as a marker for the turn and the PAPI lights at 3:55 perfect glide slope with 2 reds and 2 whites. FSX recreation Actual landing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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