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Korean Air Flight 803 facts for kids

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Korean Air Flight 803
The aircraft involved in the accident, while still in service with Air Siam
Accident summary
Date 27 July 1989 (1989-07-27)
Summary Pilot error in low visibility leading to Controlled Flight into Terrain
Place On approach to runway 27 at Tripoli International Airport in Tripoli, Libya
Passengers 181
Crew 18
Fatalities 75
Survivors 124
Aircraft type McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
Airline/user Korean Air
Registration HL7328
Flew from Seoul-Gimpo International Airport
1st stopover Bangkok-Don Mueang International Airport
Last stopover Jeddah-King Abdulaziz International Airport
Flying to Tripoli International Airport

On July 27, 1989, a Korean Air DC-10 airplane crashed while trying to land in Tripoli, Libya. Out of 199 people on board (passengers and crew), 75 died. Also, 4 people on the ground were killed in the crash.

The Accident

Flight 803 was a regular international flight. It was traveling from Seoul, South Korea to Tripoli, Libya. The plane made stops in Bangkok, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia along the way.

As the plane was getting ready to land in Tripoli, it crashed into an orchard. This happened about 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) before the runway. At the time of the crash, there was very thick fog. It was hard to see, with visibility only between 100 and 800 feet (30 to 240 meters).

This accident was the second time a DC-10 plane had crashed in less than two weeks. Just before this, United Airlines Flight 232 crashed on July 19, 1989. That crash happened during an emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa. In that accident, 111 out of 296 people on board died.

Many employees from South Korean companies like Daewoo and Donga were on Flight 803. They were working on construction projects in Libya. Most of the people on the plane were South Korean (190 people), along with seven Libyans and three Japanese citizens.

What Happened After

After the crash, the pilot of Flight 803, Kim Ho-jung, spoke about the event. He said that the airport was covered in thick fog and it was very hard to see. He also mentioned losing contact with the control tower for 15 minutes before the crash.

Libya's official news agency, JANA, reported something important. An hour before Flight 803, a Soviet airplane had changed its route to Malta. This was because of the heavy fog at Tripoli. Also, the special system that helps planes land in bad weather, called the instrument landing system, was not working at Tripoli International Airport when the crash happened.

In December 1990, a Libyan court made a decision. They found the pilot and co-pilot responsible for not being careful enough. The pilot received a two-year sentence, and the co-pilot received an eighteen-month sentence. The co-pilot's sentence was put on hold.

Why the Crash Happened

Experts looked into the crash to find out why it happened. They found that the main reason was a mistake made by the flight crew. The crew tried to fly the plane too low to land when they could not see the runway. This was against safety rules, especially with the bad weather.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Vuelo 803 de Korean Air para niños

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