why is kai tak airport so dangerous

Now he's sharing what he knows. After struggling financially for a few years and eventually becoming the base of the Royal Air Force, theFar East Flying Schoolthe first of its kind in Asiawas founded in 1934, sparking a brand-new chapter of civil aviation at Kai Tak and in Hong Kong. There will never be another airport like Hong Kong's Kai Tak Everything that was connected with aviation at that time aroused everyone's great interest. On April 11 of that year, the first 747 arrived in Hong Kong, and for decades photographers and planespotters had a spectacular view of the behemoths making high-performance maneuvers amid the apartment blocks and verdant peaks of the city. Amazingly, there were no fatalities among 296 passengers and crew, but the weeks-old 747-400 was scrapped. You have no saved articles. 432K views 3 years ago. New research shows that they arrived far earlier than previously thought. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Speak the name of Hong Kong's old airport to anybody who fancies themselves a commercial aviation expert, and you'll inevitably hear back some version of "Oh, that landing!". Winner will be selected at random on 08/01/2023. I fist fought him afterwards. Merch: http://www.Airforceproud95.store Venue: http://www.extremeflightsimulation.c. He headed to London Heathrow Airport, and at that time, in the main control tower of Kaitaka, the head of Hong Kong civil aviation said: "Goodbye, Kaitak, and thank you," after which he turned the switch and turned off the runway lights. Journalist - Mark is an experienced travel journalist having published work in the industry for more than seven years. The greatest misconception is to believe that only representatives of intellectual labor work with their heads. It closed in 1998, but the memory of 747s and other large aircraft flying low over the city remains. This is what we call a hard landing. It is used integrate the sharing features of this social media. A Dragonair A320 made the last checkerboard approach at around 11:30 pm. 10. A puff of smoke from the tires and the plane was on the ground. Twenty-five years ago, Kai Tak Airport gave Hong Kong a feeling of As for civilians on the ground, there was a saying that when one stood on the roof, they could knock down an aeroplane with a laundry pole.. In her free time, you can usually find her in her room obsessing over a new show, making a new playlist, or getting lost in her thoughts. Pro-democracy demonstrators occupied the terminal several times in the summer of 2019, canceling more than 150 flights as they exploited the airports status as a gateway. Kai Tak airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998.Because of the geography of the area positioning the airport with water on three sides of the runway, with Kowloon City's residential apartment complexes and mountains higher than 2000ft to the north-east of the airport, aircraft could not fly over the mountains and quickly drop in for a final.Instead, aircraft had to fly above Victoria Harbour and Kowloon City, passing low north of Mong Kok's Bishop Hill. Typhoon season lasts from May to November in Hong Kong, and added even more complexity to the landing. Amid strong crosswinds, the aircraft overshot the runway and both the nose and wing ended up in the harbor. Kai Tak airport was surrounded by dense and high development. (Photo credit: Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department) 1910~40s 1930 Airport in the middle of the city: Sitting partly in the city and partly in the sea, Kai Tak International Airport, which closed 25 years ago, was one of the world's most exciting (and terrifying . Photo: A chequerboard on the hill marked the final turning point. And speaking of 747s, this one from Taiwan's China Airlines skidded off the Kai Tak runway in November 1993. In 1939, the first runway completed construction. Performance cookies are key in allowing web site screens and content to load quickly on all types of devices. Kai Tak operated from the 1920s until 1998. A control tower and aircraft hangar were added in 1935, and a scheduled airline service was introduced in 1936. (Nobody ever hit one, by the way.). In 1958, as demands on the airport increased, a new runway was built: Runway 13/31. It was one-of-a-kind, requiring pilots to be specially certified in order to make hair-raising landings amid mountains and high-rises. For a time, runway 13/31 and its checkerboard approach was the busiest single runway at any airport in the world. Its location was unusual: It sat in a bowl, surrounded by mountains and waterand later studded with apartment blocks. And today, looking at the photo, it's hard to believe that such a place could exist. Shutdown In 1989 Because It Was So Dangerous, These Photos Show Why For pilots, this airport was technically demanding, as the approach could not be flown by aircraft instruments, but rather visually because of the right-hand turn required.The History Channel program Most Extreme Airports ranked it as the 6th most dangerous airport in the . Real news. In memories: the legacy of Kai Tak International Airport It is hard not to look back at Kai Tak now as a symbol of what made Hong Kong unique. These limitations suggested a clear solution: a new airport. This is some footage from Hong Kong Kai Tak airport a couple of days before closing back in 1998. Top 10 of the Most Dangerous Airports in the World The place was a haunt for AvGeeks who came to photograph 747s making the last turn to align with the runway, right over buildings housing thousands of people. The weather was pretty awful, and halfway through the turn onto finals, a vicious rainstorm came across the airfield and I totally lost sight of the runway. In 1996, Kai Tak Airport was named the third busiest airport in the world, serving 29 million passengers in a year, and the busiest in terms of international cargo throughput, dealing with 1.56 million tons per year. Photo: Barbara Ann Spengler (via Flickr / CC BY 2.0), Aircraft approaching Kai Tak Airport. Residential buildings and even skyscrapers were built. Real insight. Reading up on the old Hong Kong airport Kai Tak, I'm left with the question as to why the planes didn't land from the sea? Hong Kong was settled long before aircraft and air travel existed. (Technically, this approach was to runway 13, as it would be designated when approaching from this direction, with the designation 31 referring to approaches from the runways opposite end, if the wind direction called for it.) Did Kai Tak have a straight-in approach to runway 13 for higher The airport site has now been redeveloped and houses flat development and a cruise ship terminal. Life in Hong Kong: Kai Tac Airport - Blogger But even now, the memory of Kai Tak landings linger. It also stores information about how the user uses the website for tracking and targeting. Opened in 1925 and renowned for its notorious "Hong Kong Turn" and a spate of deadly accidents, the dangerous Kai Tak Airport (also known as the Hong Kong International Airport) was shut down on July 6, 1989. The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. Landing at Kai Tak was a one-of-a-kind experience for pilots and passengers alike. Here are ten scariest situations that were caught on video: 10.) NEW page on Facebook - will be posting a ton of stuff starting soon - give it a like! It was decided to close Kaitak, but the city authorities were able to do this only in 1998. The pilots joked that on the approach to the Kaitak you can see what is on TV from the residents of the upper floors. Did you ever fly into Kai Tak airport as a pilot or a passenger? A redevelopment plan was launched in 1954, with the runways extended to take larger aircraft and a new passenger terminal added. After passing Bishop Hill, pilots would see the famous Rwy13 Checkerboard Hill with a large red and white checkerboard pattern. 683K subscribers. They surrounded the strips of the air port from three sides, leaving only the direction from the bay free. This web site uses cookies to deliver a modern, enjoyable web site experience. But the Japanese were expelled from China before the Kaitak was ready. 2023 Atlas Obscura. Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport - Nehru Memorial If an aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 13/31, it would have to do the following: I was flying into Kai Tak with my wife on the jumpseat. He is the author of three books on Chinas modern history, most recently Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai. By now, you might be wondering, what is the Kai Tak Heart Attack? For all the pilots heroics, there was no medal or citation forthcoming: just another landing at Kai Tak Airport, which closed on this week in Chinas history, July 6, 1998. The maneuver prevented the plane from slamming into a peak, but now, apartment buildings seemed close enough to touch. Probably the most dangerous airport ever, Kai Tak was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. While the airport was being built, Kowloon was also developing. The history of Kaitak Airport began in 1912. In March 1936, the first commercial flight landed at Kai Tak, an Imperial Airways flight from Penang (with service connecting on to Singapore and eventually to London). The complex and tight final right turn meant the approach could only be flown under visual conditions. The Regal Meridien Hong Kong Airport Hotelstill stands under the new name Regal Oriental Hotel. This cookies is installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the colllection of data on high traffic sites. Receiving large passenger jets for decades, it's no surprise that the airport and its challenging location claimed a few aircraft over time. The strong winds characteristic of the coast did not contribute at all to the accurate work of the pilots. In May 2021, Kai Tak Sky Garden was opened to the public with nostalgic nods to the airport, with the numbers 13 and 31 boldly marked at the two ends, recreating the look of the iconic Runway 13/31. Curfews to limit noise restricted flights to the hours between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 p.m. Therefore, we constantly had to make adjustments to weather conditions. For starters, it was short, and, once airborne, the aircraft had to turn sharply to avoid Beacon Hill and Lion Rock, two vertiginous mountains rising to around 1600 feet. Photo: SkyGarden 1331, Copyright 2023 LOCALIIZ | All rights reserved, 20 August 2021 Pilots would then fly towards a large orange and white chequerboard located on a hill in Kowloon Tsai Park (still known as Chequerboard Hill). It's clear from our older readers (some of whom were pilots) that Kai Tak had a special place in commercial aviation. At 11.38 pm on 5 July 1998, Dragonair KA814 made the final landing on Runway 13/31; at 12.02 am on 6 July, Cathay Pacific CX251 made the final commercial take-off; and finally, the remaining planes at Kai Tak finished setting off for Chek Lap Kok at 1.28 am. Think New York's notoriously tough La Guardia, surrounded by water and with short runways but with mountains on one side, skyscrapers on the other, sometimes a typhoon to contend with, and with much bigger and heavier airplanes. Based in Hong Kong and Darlington, UK. Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong: Remembering the glory days | CNN As the airport was surrounded by residential buildings and mountains, it was impossible to use autoland. Improve earnings, maximize rewards and track progress toward dream trips. When a transport plane crashed into Victoria Harbour after take-off from Hong Kong's then Kai Tak Airport in 1994, rescuers fought in vain to save the lives of six of the Indonesian crew - the . The Most Dangerous Airports in the World - WorldAtlas His enthusiasm for aviation news and wealth of experience lends itself to some excellent insight, with his work cited in Forbes amongst other publications. If you click on them and buy a product, Amazon pays me a few percentages from the price of the product you bought. Having opened in 1925, Kai Tak served as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954. Also, because of its proximity to residential homes, the airport had to close between 23:30 and 06:30, adding further pressure to flight operations. We'd love to hear about them. The Kai Tak airport was rated as the one of the most dangerous airports, due to it's approach, it has a 45 right bank just, before landing on runway 13. Hong Kong's Kai Tak airport has a special place in aviation history and memories. The airport was famous for it's approach through, flying through the high raising buildings of Hong Kong, with regular crosswinds, which have created numerous problems for many a pilot. The cookie is set to identify new vs returning users. According to The Daily Mail, the airport suffered 12 air disasters, killing a total of 270 people. It expanded over the next two decades, with further flight schools and an RAF presence. Many thought the airport was named to commemorate the business partners who started it all, but the title of the airport actually came from the name of the land, which was Kai Tak Bund. With a keen interest in route development, new aircraft, and loyalty, his extensive travels with airlines such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific has given him profound direct comprehension of industry matters. Kai Tak was in many ways like Hong Kong itself. By 1996 it had exceeded its limit by 4.5 million passengers a year and was straining under the pressure. Kai Tak Airport - Why THIS Airport Was Closed. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Kai Tak Airport (IATA: HKG, ICAO: VHHH, VHHX) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. On July 6, 1998, at 01:28, the last aircraft, a Cathay Pacific Airbus A340, departed Kai Tak Airport for a ferry flight to Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). But after a while, the landowners realized that they had lost and decided to get rid of the land, which turned out to be in the center of the city slums. And soon several more private flying clubs opened near Kaitak. The last scheduled flight out of the airport was a Cathay Pacific flight to London Heathrow. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. The completion date of January 1998 was moved up a year in order to precede the retrocession of Hong Kong to the Peoples Republic in 1997, but that goal was not met. This approach was so onerous that it was used aspart of training programmes for pilots around the world, and a rule was made that only experienced pilots were allowed to land on Runway 13/31. The Most Dangerous Airports in the World A stamp showing the once-harrowing but now demolished Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong.Editorial credit: HUANSHENG XU / Shutterstock.com. The compression effect of telephoto lenses made planes appear more sandwiched between buildings than they actually were, but still, 747 landings were a scary sight. Then, before the airport terminal was demolished in the 2000s, it temporarily housed government offices, automobile dealerships, showrooms, and other recreational facilities. In the 1960s, a fullfledged passenger terminal began operating at the airport. Why didn't planes land from the sea in the old Kai Tak Hong Kong airport? Kaitak received its proud title of "the most extreme airport in the world" in the early 70s. The new site at Chek Lap Kok, an island in the archipelago that was coincidentally just about where pilots could pick up the checkerboard when approaching Kai Tak, was chosen. In fact, you can actually spot where Kai Tak Airport used to be in the first image. This 47-degree turn would be at low-altitude, and at a speed of roughly 200 miles per hour, approximately two nautical miles from the runway. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Meanwhile, the airport's second runway, 7/25, remained 4,760 feet long. Well away from main residential areas, not only would noise and pollution be less of a concern, it would alleviate the potential for a horrific accident in a densely populated place. It was certainly the case in the 2010s that new arrivals from the United States or Europe found the airport more familiar than did those coming on mainland flights. The new Hong Kong International Airport, built on the island of Chek Lap Kok, opened as soon as Kai Tak closed. As a result, 59 passengers on board the aircraft were killed. Following the aircraft's departure, a brief ceremony was held in the airport's control tower where then-director of civil aviation Richard Siegel made a short speech that ended with the words "Goodbye Kai Tak, and thank you.". All rights reserved. Meet the adorable cats watching over the city's stores. Indeed, it was once ranked the 6th most dangerous airport due to this approach. From that moment to the present day, all air transportation in Hong Kong is carried out through the comfortable and safe Cheeklapkok Airport, located away from residential areas on the island. After a decade of planning and evaluating different possible sites, construction began in 1991. And with only one airfield runway, it could not meet the increasing flights any more. How the airport looked before the final runway extension in 1974. Photo: Getty Images, dnata Australia Produces 64 Million Meals Annually with Paddock To Plane Philosophy, LATAM Takes Delivery Of First Airbus A320neo Using SAF, Alaska Airlines To Launch Flights From LAX To Guatemala City, Melbourne Airport Embarks on $500 Million Baggage System Upgrade, Runway Lighting Stolen From Lagos Airport, Southwest Airlines Set To Win Big With Planned Expansion At Houston's Hobby Airport. Once far from the center of the city, Kai Tak was now surrounded by tall buildings. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website. In spite of the emotional send-off, Kai Tak was reactivated for a month to aid cargo operations during Chek Lap Koks rocky start. Kai Tak airport was the. The story of the famous Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport. During the construction, the occupiers shamelessly used the labor of prisoners of war and local residents. On July 6, 1998, at 00.02, the last airliner belonging to Cathay Pacific Airlines took off from runway 133131. The new airport struggled with glitches for months, but within a year had achieved its goal of providing a modern, efficient, even glamorous port of entry for the territory. Before its current airport on Chek Lap Kok island, there was Kai Tak. Surrounding the airport were three elements less-than-ideal for aircraft landings: mountainous terrain, water, and eventually tall apartment buildings. Stanley Aryanto took a once-in-a-lifetime photo of the Milky Way, Comet NEOWISE, and auroras thanks to planning, patience, and luck. Kai Tak Airport was the international airport in Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. I had to execute a missed approach, which was quite hard work.. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. Richard Siegel, then-director of civil aviation, concluded his farewell speech with the moving words, Goodbye Kai Tak, and thank you,and turned off the lights along the runway as a ceremonious gesture, and Hong Kong Kai Tak International Airport was officially retired. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. Its roots were in a failed business development, the brainchild of Sir Kai Ho Kai and Au Tak. Today's Video: Kai Tak Airport - Why THIS Airport Was Closed Instagram: https://www . At the end of runway 05, there lie hills and cliffs which make a direct ILS approach and landing unavailable. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The former greatness of Hong Kong's first air gate is only recalled by amazing photographs, similar to shots from disaster films or skillful photomontage. But the images survive taken during the last days of film photography, they are grainy look at an AvGeek wonder that went away two decades ago. Ultimately, existence as a small promontory surrounded by political and physical pressures doomed Kai Tak. Now fading, the checkerboard is the subject of a campaign to make it an historic landmark. Layout of Kai Tak Airport prior to its 1998 closure Let us now fly through the glorious life of Kai Tak Airport! Avro 146 At London City Airport. The two numbers were derived from the calculated angles for taking off and landing on the runwayyes, you read it right, runway in singular form, asthe routes for take-offs and landings were so close in distance they were practically the same runway. The airport was first used as a flying club and a military airfield but, post-WWII, it was converted to be a base for 'national' airline Cathay Pacific. This gave it a dramatic location, but the approach over the densely developed city and the hills of Hong Kong was even more dramatic. The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. One of the multiple dangers at Kai Tak was the lack of a 'bailout' area. The last airliner left its runway in 1998. Getting in doesn't require the same finesse while hand-flying a double-decker with 400 people in it. Opened in 1925 and renowned for its notorious "Hong Kong Turn" and a spate of deadly accidents, the dangerous Kai Tak Airport (also known as the Hong Kong International Airport) was shut down on July 6, 1989. To optimize ad relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites such as what pages have been loaded. You can continue reading without saving your preference, or you can subscribe now. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. A new passenger terminal opened in 1962, and by the mid-1970s, the airport's runway had been extended again to 11,130 feet. See. For pilots, this airport was technically demanding, as the approach could not be flown by aircraft instruments, but rather visually because of the right-hand turn required. | Last Updated 5 July 2023, Hidden Hong Kong: A history of Ocean Park, Hong Kongs beloved theme park, Hidden Hong Kong: A history of Cantonese barbecue (siu mei). Check out our lineup of courses taught by world-class experts from around the world. Unfortunately, their business plan never came to fruition, and the government purchased the development land to use for an airfield. In 1957, the lanes were lengthened to 1,664 meters so that they could receive passenger liners. This shot was taken in June 1998, when even more people than usual gathered to watch on top of a car park. How did Kaitak the most dangerous airport in the world - Pictolic Despite all the difficulties, Kaitak has not become an ominous place of constant plane crashes. The cookie is set by CloudFare service to store a unique ID to identify a returning users device which then is used for targeted advertising. But due to the lack of space, they had to be moved to the bay. Remembering Hair-Raising Landings at Hong Kongs Kai Tak Airport. The rake offs and landings on this airport are highly demanding and technical. The HKG designation that Kai Tak had carried since 1958 was transferred over to the new airport with its (at the time) largest passenger concourse in the world. Now Kaitak Airport is a large dusty wasteland, on which the ruins of airfield buildings are visible in some places. From the 1980s on, Kai Taks capacity began to be stretched. 20 Most Dangerous Airports In The World - Travel Caribou By the time 1980 came around, the airport was at its capacity limit. We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. With its runway given the nickname "Kai Tak Heart Attack", the airport was well known among pilots and passengers for its hair raising approach. If neither of the cookies are set, the user is a new user.
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