Incident Overview

Description
Cathay Pacific Flight CX 700Z took off from Bangkok (BKK) at 04:55 UTC bound for Hong Kong (HKG). The flight proceeded normally along airway Green 67 at a cruise altitude of FL290, maintaining routine radio contact first with Bangkok ACC and from 05:42 with Saigon ACC. At 05:59 a high explosive device detonated within the passenger cabin centre section area. Some passengers’ seats were ejected through a hole in the fuselage. Portions of the fuselage and possibly some seats struck the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, causing severe damage. Simultaneously the floor of the cabin, centre fuselage section, and starboard wing root were disrupted. The CV-880 lost control, entered a high-speed descent and broke up. The aircraft crashed in a jungle area, lightly wooded with small trees. It appeared that the explosive device was hidden in a suitcase under a passenger seat on the right side near the wing. A police officer whose fiance and daughter were aboard was charged with the crime. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The aircraft broke up in the air and caught fire following the detonation of a high explosive device within the passenger cabin.”
Primary Cause
High explosive device detonation within the passenger cabin.High explosive device detonation within the passenger cabin.Share on: