China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146

An Il-18D similar to the accident aircraft
Accident
Date	18 January 1988
Summary	In-flight fire causing structural failure and loss of control due to poor maintenance
Site	5km NW from Chongqing Baishiyi Airport, near Longfengxinmin Village, Chongqing, China 29°31′25″N 106°20′00″E / 29.52361°N 106.33333°E / 29.52361; 106.33333
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Ilyushin Il-18D
Operator	China Southwest Airlines
Registration	B-222
Flight origin	Beijing Capital International Airport
Destination	Chongqing Baishiyi Airport
Occupants	108
Passengers	98
Crew	10
Fatalities	108
Survivors	0

China Southwest Airlines Flight 4146 was a domestic flight from Beijing Capital International Airport to Chongqing Baishiyi Airport. On 18 January 1988, an Ilyushin Il-18 flying the route crashed near Longfengxinmin Village, Chongqing, China, with the loss of all 108 passengers and crew. The crash was caused by poor maintenance.

Flight

Flight 4146 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing to Chongqing Airport, Chongqing, with 98 passengers and a crew of ten on board. The en route flight was uneventful until 21:50, but when the aircraft had neared Chongqing, the aircraft's Number Four engine (the outer engine on the right wing) caught fire. The fire burned the engine mount and the engine fell off the aircraft's wing. This caused a loss of control. Flight 4146 hit a power line and two farmhouses before bursting into flames.^[1] Everyone on board the Ilyushin Il-18 perished in the crash.^[2] The occupants consisted of 104 Chinese, three Japanese, and one Briton.^[1][3]

The engine fire was the result of an oil leak. The engine was shut down and its propeller feathered due to severe vibrations. However, the starter/generator fitted to the engine had overheated to such an extent that it had burnt the tube supplying oil at high pressure to feather the propeller. When the crew feathered the propeller, the tube burst and the leaking oil caught fire.^[2]

Aftermath and cause

Not long after the crash of Flight 4146, the Civil Aviation Administration of China ordered safety checks that found mechanical problems leading to the grounding of at least 17 aircraft.^[4]

The crash of Flight 4146 was blamed on poor maintenance.^[5]