A commercial Air China flight from Hong Kong to Chengdu had a close call Sunday evening, when it almost collided with a mountain on the Special Administrative Region’s Lantau Island.
The incident happened shortly after takeoff, around 9.30pm, when the pilot made a premature left turn towards the fishing village of Tai O and Lantau’s iconic ‘Big Buddha’ statue, according to the South China Morning Post.
The flight’s normal path would have seen the aircraft fly straight westwards until it had left the island. In a reassuring case of supervision, an air traffic control worker notified the pilot to immediately change the plane’s course.
Civic Party politician Jeremy Tam Man-ho, a licensed pilot himself, is quoted in the SCMP story as stating the minimum safe flying altitude in that area is 1,310 meters, considerably higher than the 1,036 meters the plane was cruising at when it flew over the island.
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Lantau Peak, the island's highest point, is 934 meters above sea level.
“If the plane [was flying at] a lower altitude, it could be quite a serious incident,” Tam told the SCMP. He added that if the air traffic control officer had not notified the pilot when he did, the plane would likely have continued flying towards Lantau Peak and the Buddha statue; although it’s likely the aircraft’s anti-collision program would have directed a climb in altitude before an accident could occur.
A recording of the conversation between the pilot and ground control reportedly contains audio in which the pilot is instructed to “turn right immediately” because of “terrain ahead.” The pilot failed to turn right and was then instructed to climb to an altitude of 1,524 meters.
Apologies can then be heard from the pilot, after being told by the air traffic officer that the episode would have to be reported to authorities. No word yet on whether the pilot will face disciplinary action.
Roughly two hours later, the Airbus A320 plane (which can hold up to 200 passengers) landed safely in Chengdu.
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[Images via SCMP]
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