Tibet Airlines Airbus A319 Catches Fire Taking Off In Chongqing

 Tibet Airlines Airbus A319 Catches Fire Taking Off In Chongqing

A Tibet Airlines plane has suffered a runway excursion in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing. Taking place earlier this morning, the incident resulted in the aircraft skidding off the runway and catching fire.

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A319, registration B-6425. It was due to operate flight number TV9833, the daily service from Chongqing to the Tibetan city of Nyingchi. Tracking data shows it was scheduled to depart at 06:35 local time for the two hour hop up to its destination.

According to the Aviation Herald, 113 passengers and nine crew were on board when the aircraft began its takeoff roll. It accelerated down the runway, but veered off to the left, crossed a taxiway, crossed another taxiway and lost both its engines and landing gear before sliding to a stop on soft ground.

Moments later, a fire broke out on the left side of the aircraft. Amazingly, all 113 passengers and nine crew were safely evacuated, although the aircraft is clearly damaged beyond repair.

pic.twitter.com/IfpGc2CoSu

— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) May 12, 2022

Investigations opened

The Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC) has said it has begun an on-scene investigation and has launched emergency plans in response to the incident. Earlier today, the regulator issued a statement on the incident, which read:

On May 12, 2022, Tibet Airlines flight TV9833 ran off the runway during takeoff and taxiing at Chongqing Airport while carrying out a passenger transport mission between Chongqing and Nyingchi, Tibet. According to a crew member, the plane experienced an anomaly during takeoff, then the crew implemented rejected take off procedures. After running off the runway, the engine scraped the ground and caught fire. The fire has been put out now.A total of 122 people on board, including 113 passengers and 9 crew members, have been evacuated safely. During the evacuation, 36 people suffered bruises and sprains and were sent to local hospitals for examination.At present, Chongqing Airport has closed one runway, and the other two runways are in normal operation. CAAC Southwest Regional Administration and Chongqing Regulatory Bureau have launched emergency plans and started on scene investigation.

At around the same time, Tibet Airlines released its own statement regarding the incident. The airline said,

At 8:09am on May 12, 2022, Tibet Airlines TV9833 (aircraft register number B-6425) was scheduled to carry out a passenger flight from Chongqing to Nyingchi with 113 passengers and 9 crew members on board. During the take off, the crew found the aircraft was unusual and implemented the rejected take off procedure, the plane veered off the runway at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport.All passengers and crew were evacuated safely. The injured passengers were sent to local hospital with minor injuries. The aircraft was damaged by fire. After the incident, Tibet Airlines immediately activated the first-level emergency plan and made every effort to deal with the following work.

Tibet Airlines Airbus A319 (B-6425, built 2012) was destroyed when it veered off runway 03 at Chongqing Intl Airport (ZUCK), China. All 122 people on board flight #TV9833 to Nyingchi evacuated safely. https://t.co/yRRqTN8fti pic.twitter.com/zY3AdHGh5q

— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) May 12, 2022

Tibet Airlines flies all Airbus aircraft, with a total of 28 A319s in its fleet, according to ch-aviation.com. It also has six A320s and five widebody A330-200s, for a total fleet size of 39. Airbus has commented that it is aware of the incident and is seeking more information.