- Date
- August 6, 1997, 01:42 local (09:42 UTC)
- Place
- Nimitz Hill
- Injuries
- 228 fatal, 26 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- H7468Boeing 747-300
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 5, 2006
- Report
- Board-adopted at Board Meeting
- Investigation class
- Class 1
- NTSB office
- Major Investigations Division
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- Case key
- 11027
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
the captain's failure to adequately brief and execute the nonprecision approach and the first officer's and flight engineer's failure to effectively monitor and cross-check the captain's execution of the approach. Contributing to these failures were the captain's fatigue and Korean Air’s inadequate flight crew training. Contributing to the accident was the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) intentional inhibition of the minimum safe altitude warning system (MSAW) at Guam and the agency's failure to adequately manage the system.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The Board's full report is available at http://www/ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm, AAR-00/01, PB00-910401.
On August 6, 1997, about 0142:26 Guam local time, Korean Air flight 801, a Boeing 747-3B5B (747-300), Korean registration HL7468, operated by Korean Air Company, Ltd., crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam. Flight 801 departed from Kimpo International Airport, Seoul, Korea, with 2 pilots, 1 flight engineer, 14 flight attendants, and 237 passengers on board. The airplane had been cleared to land on runway 6 Left at A.B. Won Guam International Airport, Agana, Guam, and crashed into high terrain about 3 miles southwest of the airport. Of the 254 persons on board, 228 were killed, and 23 passengers and 3 flight attendants survived the accident with serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. Flight 801 was operating in U.S. airspace as a regularly scheduled international passenger service flight under the convention on International Civil Aviation and the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1239 and was on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Factual narrative
The Board's full report is available at http://www/ntsb.gov/publictn/publictn.htm, AAR-00/01, PB00-910401.
On August 6, 1997, about 0142:26 Guam local time, Korean Air flight 801, a Boeing 747-3B5B (747-300), Korean registration HL7468, operated by Korean Air Company, Ltd., crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam. Flight 801 departed from Kimpo International Airport, Seoul, Korea, with 2 pilots, 1 flight engineer, 14 flight attendants, and 237 passengers on board. The airplane had been cleared to land on runway 6 Left at A.B. Won Guam International Airport, Agana, Guam, and crashed into high terrain about 3 miles southwest of the airport. Of the 254 persons on board, 228 were killed, and 23 passengers and 3 flight attendants survived the accident with serious injuries. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postcrash fire. Flight 801 was operating in U.S. airspace as a regularly scheduled international passenger service flight under the convention on International Civil Aviation and the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1239 and was on an instrument flight rules flight plan.
Aircraft
- Registration
- H7468
- Reported as
- Boeing 747-300
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22487
- Airframe hours
- 50,105
- Engine
- P&W JT9D-7R4G2, 54,750 lbs thrust, turbo fan
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Part 129
- Registered owner
- Korean Airlines Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Transport
- Last inspection
- Continuous airworthiness · December 16, 1996
- Departed
- SEL · Seoul
- Destination
- KGUM · Agana
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- KGUM · Agana International Airpo, runway 6
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Unknown, Unknown
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 90° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 4 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GUM
Docket · 206
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 23, 1998, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 114 MB in all.