Incident Overview

Description
China Southern Airlines flight 3943, a Boeing 737-300, crashed following a loss of control while on approach to Guilin Airport, China, killing all 141 occupants. Flight CZ3943 departed Guangzhou at 07:17 hours on a domestic flight to Guilin, China. The descent towards Guilin was carried out with autothrottle engaged. During the visual approach to runway 36, at an altitude of about 7000 feet, the captain attempted to level off the plane by raising the nose of the airplane. The autothrottle responded by advancing the throttles. The no. 2 power lever however remained at idle. The crew apparently did not notice this. With the no. 2 engine at idle, the autothrottle further advanced the no. 1 power lever in order to obtain the correct airspeed. The asymmetrical power condition was not corrected and the airplane rolled to the right. Control was lost and the airplane impacted terrain near Liutang.
Primary Cause
Autothrottling malfunction and asymmetric power condition.Autothrottling malfunction and asymmetric power condition.Share on: