Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104 was a short-haul flight from Kaohsiung International Airport to Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan using a Handley Page Dart Herald aircraft that crashed on 24 February 1969 upon its approach for an emergency landing in Tainan Airport in Taiwan.

Aircraft

 * Aircraft model: Handley Page Dart Herald


 * Manufacturing serial number (msn): 157
 * Registration: B-2009

Accident
On February 24, 1969, the B-2009 aircraft carried out the FE104 flight that ended the Spring Festival holiday and flew from Kaohsiung International Airport to Taipei Songshan Airport. The flight took off at 12:03 pm, after a 13-minute delay from 11:50 am. Ten minutes after take-off, the captain told the Tainan Airport Tower that an engine failure had occurred. The aircraft's port-side engine had failed, leaving its propeller windmilling and the aircraft in a shallow descent. The flight crew decided to divert to Tainan Airport in Tainan City. Moments after receiving clearance for an emergency landing, however, the aircraft passed over a wooded area, belly-landed in a small clearing and skidded into a creek. The aircraft broke into three parts and caught fire, killing all on board.

Cause
The right engine had been severely damaged, causing the aircraft to quickly lose altitude.