The Korean Air Flight 801 Crash in Guam

Key Insight

The Korean Air flight 801, a Boeing 747 'classic', crashed on August 5, 1997, into Nimitz Hill, three miles southwest of Guam airport, resulting in 228 fatalities out of 254 people on board. The captain, a 42-year-old pilot with 8900 flight hours and 3200 hours in jumbo jets, had been awake since 6:00 a.m. the previous day, contributing to significant fatigue. Despite having flown into Guam eight times, the inoperative glide scope at the airport, under repair for a month, forced a non-standard landing procedure. This was further complicated by unexpected storm cells in the tropical region, creating a challenging environment.

The crew initially planned a VOR/DME approach, a complex, step-down procedure, but the captain decided to switch to a visual approach after glimpsing lights in the distance, assuming they were Guam. This decision, however, lacked a crucial backup plan, a standard safety protocol. The VOR beacon they relied on for altitude guidance was located on Nimitz Hill, 2.5 miles from the airport, not at the runway itself. As the plane descended, the first officer couldn't see the runway, and the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) activated at 500 feet, indicating proximity to terrain, which the crew misconstrued as proximity to the runway.

In the final moments, with the plane at 500 feet, the first officer suggested a 'missed approach' at 01:42:19, meaning to pull up and try again. The flight engineer echoed this at 01:42:22 with 'Go around.' The captain repeated 'Go around' at 01:42:23 but was slow to execute the maneuver. Just three seconds later, at 01:42:26, the aircraft impacted the side of Nimitz Hill, a densely vegetated mountain, at one hundred miles per hour, with 60 million dollars and 212000 kilograms of steel slamming into rocky ground. It skidded for 2000 feet before falling into a ravine and bursting into flames. Investigators later determined that if the first officer had taken control at his initial suggestion, there would have been enough time to avoid the crash.