China Northern Airlines

China Northern Airlines

China Northern Airlines , was an airline headquartered on the grounds of Dongta Airport, Dadong District, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, People's Republic of China....

 Flight 6901 (CJ6901) was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82 airliner from Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

's Capital International Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport, is the main international airport serving Beijing, China. It is located northeast of Beijing's city center in an enclave of Chaoyang District that is surrounded by rural Shunyi District. The airport is owned and operated by the Beijing Capital...

 to Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport

Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport

Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is an airport serving Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. The airport is located in Diwopu, northwest of downtown Ürümqi...

 in Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

, China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. On November 13, 1993, it crashed on approach to Ürümqi Airport. Twelve of the 102 passengers and crew on board were killed. The accident has been attributed to pilot error.

Accident

While on final approach, the autopilot automatically disconnected. The Captain proceeded to reengage it, believing that it would still be in APP mode. When activated however, the autopilot went into VERT SPD mode with a setting of -800 feet per minute. The crew's failure to disconnect the autopilot and manually land the airplane contributed to the accident.

Aircraft

• Model: McDonnell Douglas
  McDonnell Douglas
  McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
  
   MD-82
• Registration:
• MSN/LN: 49849/1772
• Engine: Pratt & Whitney
  Pratt & Whitney
  Pratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
  
   JT8D-217A
• Year of Delivery: 1991
• Flight time: 26700 hours

See also

• List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft