Kai Tak Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hong Kong International Airport (Kai Tak Airport)
IATA: HKG - ICAO: VHHH
Summary
Airport type		public
Operator		Civil Aviation Department
Serves		Hong Kong
Elevation AMSL		28 ft (9 m)
Coordinates		22°20′00″N, 114°11′00″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
13/31	11,122	3,390	Paved
Statistics (1996)
Passengers			29,500,000 (Capacity: 24,000,000)
Cargo			1.56m tonnes (Capacity: 1.5m tonnes)
Aprons			35
Destinations			130

Kai Tak Airport is the popular and original name of the former Hong Kong International Airport in Kowloon, Hong Kong. Kai Tak was the world-famous international airport of Hong Kong until July 6, 1998. Kai Tak had the IATA airport code HKG as well as the ICAO airport code VHHH, both of which were taken over by the new Chek Lap Kok Airport. The famous airport served as the hub for Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Air Hong Kong and Hong Kong Airways. It also has the ICAO code VHKT as the RAF air base.

[edit] Geographic environment

Kai Tak was located in the north of Kowloon Bay in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The vicinity was surrounded by rugged mountains. Less than 10 km to the north and northeast was a range of hills reaching an altitude of 2000 ft. To the east of the runway, the hills were less than 5 km away. Immediately to the south of the airport was the Victoria Harbour, and further south was Hong Kong Island with hills up to 1700 ft. There was only one runway at Kai Tak, oriented at 136.1 degrees and 316.1 degrees, hence its name 13/31. The runway was made by reclaiming land from the harbour and had been extended several times since its initial construction. Final length of the runway was 3390m.

Landing at Kai Tak could be both challenging and spectacular. Depending on the landing direction, the aircraft might need to pass over densely populated areas in Kowloon at low altitude. At the northern end of the runway, buildings up to 6 stories tall rose just across the road. The other three sides of the runway were surrounded by the harbour. Aircraft were literally landing in the harbour within the city; some passengers claimed they could even see the flickering of televisions through apartment windows as they approached the airport at low altitude.

As well as the difficult and potentially dangerous landing, Hong Kong's growth stretched the airport's capacity. The airport was designed to handle 24 million passengers per year but it typically went over 28 million, plus 1.56 million tonnes of freight during its final years. The airport ran out of landing slots and parking bays, and flights had to be turned away. Moreover, the clearance requirements for aircraft takeoffs and landings enforced a limit on the height of the buildings that could be built on expensive Kowloon real estate. The airport caused serious noise pollution for nearby residents. A night curfew from midnight to about 6:30 in the early morning also hindered operations.

As a result, in the late 1980s, the Hong Kong Government began searching for alternative locations for a new airport in Hong Kong to replace the aging airport. After deliberating on a number of locations including the southside of Hong Kong Island the government settled for the island of Chek Lap Kok off Lantau Island. A huge number of resources were mobilised to build this new airport; part of ten programmes in Hong Kong's Airport Core Programme. The airport officially opened on 6 July 1998; and in a remarkable testament to logistical planning, all the essential airport supplies and vehicles that were left in the old airport for operation (some of the non-essential ones had already been transported to the new airport) were transported to Chek Lap Kok in one early morning with a single massive move, after the last plane touched down at Kai Tak at 1:28 am, and before the first plane arrived at 6:25 am. Kai Tak was subsequently retired, transferring its IATA Airport Code to the replacement airport at Chek Lap Kok.

[edit] History

The story of Kai Tak started in 1924. The location of Kai Tak belonged to two plutocrats Ho Kai and Au Tak, who owned the land before the government acquired it (the land originally did not have a name), which explains the name of the airport. First planned as an estate site, the land was given to the government after the plan failed. Soon, it became a small airport for the Royal Air Force, flying clubs and pilot training centre.

In 1936, the first domestic airline in Hong Kong was established.

Hong Kong fell into the hands of the Japanese in 1941 during World War II. In 1943 the Japanese army extended Kai Tak, using many Canadian prisoner-of-war labourers, building an additional runway that extended across Clear Water Bay Road. During the process, its construction destroyed the historic wall of the Kowloon Walled City, as well as the 45 m (148 ft) tall Sung Wong Toi — a memorial for the last Song dynasty emperor, for materials. Japan surrendered shortly after the completion of the second runway in 1945.

An official plan to modify Kai Tak to a modern airport was released in 1954. In 1957, the original runways were replaced by a new NW/SE heading 2194 m runway extending into the Kowloon Bay completed by land reclamation. The runway was extended to 2529 m in 1970 and again to 3390 m in 1975. In 1962, the passenger terminal was completed and Kai Tak was renamed Hong Kong International Airport.

An Instrument Guidance System (IGS) was installed in 1974 to aid landing on runway 13. Utilization of the airport under adverse conditions was greatly increased.

At its beginning, Kai Tak was "far away" from residential areas, but as both residential areas and the airport expanded, Kai Tak became too close to the residential areas. Its usage was also close and for some time exceeding the designed capacity. There was much talk about a new airport but nothing came of it, for various reasons. Finally in 1990, partly to boost the confidence of the population in the future of Hong Kong after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, the Hong Kong Government decided to go ahead with the so-called "Rose Garden Plan" of which the Chek Lap Kok International Airport was the centrepiece.

On July 6, 1998 at 1:28 am, Kai Tak was finally retired as an airport. The passenger terminal was eventually transformed variously into government offices, automobile dealerships, a go kart racecourse, snooker, recreational facilities, a bowling alley, car sales showrooms and a golf range. The cargo terminal, however, had to be temporarily reactivated because of a software bug in the new airport's cargo handling system. By December 2003 and January 2004, the passenger terminal was dismantled.

Many aviation enthusiasts were upset at the demise of Kai Tak because of the unique approach. As private aviation is not allowed at Chek Lap Kok, some enthusiasts had lobbied to keep around 1 km of the Kai Tak runway for general aviation.

[edit] The 13 approach

On this satellite photo, the narrow strip of land in the North East extending into the sea is the runway of Kai Tak. To the North, East and South are mountains.

The landing approach using runway 13 at Kai Tak was spectacular and world-famous. To land on runway 13, an aircraft first took a descent heading northeast. The aircraft would pass over the crowded harbour, and then the very densely populated areas on Western Kowloon. This leg of the approach was guided by an IGS (Instrument Guidance System, a modified ILS) after 1974. Upon reaching a small hill marked with a checkerboard in red and white, which is being marked as a middle marker in the final approach, the pilot needed to make a 47° visual right turn to line up with the runway and complete the final leg. The aircraft would be just two nautical miles from touchdown, at a height of less than 1000 ft when the turn was made. Typically the plane would enter the final right turn at the height of about 650 ft and exit it at the height of 140 ft to line up with the runway. Landing the 13 approach is already difficult with normal crosswinds since even if the wind direction is constant, it is changing relative to the airplane when the 47° visual right turn is being made. The landing would become even more challenging when crosswinds from the northeast were strong and gusty during typhoons. The mountain range northeast of the airport also makes wind vary greatly in both speed and direction; thus, varying the lift of the airplane. From a spectator's point of view, watching fully-loaded Boeing 747s banking at low altitudes and taking big crab angles during their final approaches was quite the thrill. Despite the difficulty, it was nonetheless used most of the time due to the prevailing wind direction in Hong Kong.

Due to the turn in final approach, all landings in runway 13 could not use ILS and had to follow a Visual Approach. This made the runway unusable in low visibility conditions.

[edit] The 31 runway

Landing from 31 was just like other normal runways in terms of landing where ILS landing was possible. For takeoffs, aircraft had to make a sharp left turn soon after takeoff to avoid the hills (a reverse of what landing traffic would do on Runway 13). Because the taxiway next to the runway would have been occupied by aircraft taxiing for takeoff, landing traffic could only exit the runway right at the end.

[edit] Accidents

Despite its challenging approach and mountainous geographical surroundings, there were relatively few accidents at Kai Tak. Some of the most serious accidents at Kai Tak during its seventy years of service were:

• 21 December 1948 - A Douglas DC-4 of Civil Air Transport struck Basalt Island after a descent through clouds. 33 were killed.

• 24 February 1949 - A Douglas DC-3 of Cathay Pacific crashed into a hillside near Braemar Reservoir after aborting an approach in poor visibility and an attempt to go around. 24 were killed.

• 11 March 1951 - A Douglas DC-4 of the Pacific Overseas Airlines crashed after take off into the hills between Mount Butler and Mount Parker on the Hong Kong Island. The Captain of the aircraft allegedly failed to execute the turn left operation after departure. 23 were killed.

• 09 April 1951 - A Douglas DC-3 of Siamese Airways lost control on its turn while attempting a night-time visual approach. The captain allegedly allowed the aircraft to lose flying speed while attempting to turn quickly. 16 were killed.

• 11 April 1955 - Air India "Kashmir Princess" (Lockheed Constellation) went down on the sea after a bomb explosion, killing 16 people. A Kuomintang (KMT) secret agent put the bomb in the airplane during its transit in Hong Kong Airport intending to kill People's Republic of China (PRC) Prime Minister Zhou Enlai.
• Jan 1961 - A US military DC3 crashed on Mount Parker after take off.
• 24 August 1965 - A US Marines Lockheed Hercules C-130 lost control shortly after take off from runway 13. The plane plunged and sank into the harbour. 59 of the 71 soldiers on board were killed. This was the deadliest accident at Kai Tak.

• 30 June 1967 - A Thai Airways International Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle III crashed into the sea while landing during a typhoon. The co-pilot, who was flying the aircraft, allegedly made an abrupt heading change, causing the aircraft to enter into a high rate of descent and a crash into the sea short of the runway. 24 were killed.

• 2 September 1977 - A Canadair CL-44 of Transmeridian Air Cargo lost control and crashed into the sea on fire shortly after take-off. The no. 4 engine was said to have failed, causing an internal fire in the engine and the aircraft fuel system that eventually resulted in a massive external fire. 4 were killed.

• 9 March 1978 - A hijacker boarded a China Airlines Boeing 737-200, demanding to be taken to China. The hijack lasted less than a day, and the hijacker was killed.

• 18 October 1983 - A Lufthansa Boeing 747 freighter abandoned take off after engine #2 malfunctioned, probably at speed exceeding V1 (the takeoff/abort decision point). The aircraft overran the runway onto soft ground and sustained severe damage. 3 were injured.

• 31 August 1988 - The right outboard flap of a China CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident hit approach lights of runway 31 while landing under rain and fog. The right main landing gear then struck a lip and collapsed, causing the aircraft to run off the runway and slip into the harbour. 7 were killed.

• 4 November 1993 - A China Airlines Boeing 747-409 overran the 13 runway while landing during a typhoon. The wind was gusting to gale force at the time. Despite the plane's unstable approach the captain did not go around. It touched down more than 2/3 down the runway and was unable to stop before the runway ran out.

• 23 September 1994 - A Lockheed Hercules lost control shortly after take off from runway 13. The pitch control system of one of its propellers was said to have failed. 6 were killed.

Note: If Project Bojinka had not been discovered after a fire in Manila, Philippines, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s flying from this airport might have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.

Note: The world's first hijacked commercial plane, a Catalina operated by a Cathay Pacific subsidiary, was also bound to Hong Kong. Shortly after take-off in Macao on July 16, 1948, four armed hijackers entered the cockpit. The hijackers shot the pilot, whose wounded body fell onto the control stick, causing the plane to crash into the sea. 26 were killed; only the hijack leader survived. Moreover, since the foundation of Kai Tak Airport, there had been 5 accidents of aircraft crashing down into sea when touching down. ^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Future plans for the site

[edit] 2002 blueprint

In October 1998, the Government drafted a new plan for the old Kai Tak Airport site, involving a reclamation of XXX hectares. After it received a large number of objections, the Government scaled down the reclamation to 166 hectares in June 1999. The Territorial Development Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government conducted a new study on the development of the area, entitled "Feasibility Studies on the Revised Southeast Kowloon Development Plan" which commenced in November 1999, and a new public consultation exercise was conducted in May 2000, land reclamation was further scaled down to 133 hectares. The new plans based on the feasibility studies was passed by the Chief Executive in July 2002. ^[1]. There were plans for the site of Kai Tak to be used for housing development, which was once projected to house around 240,000-340,000 residents. Due to calls from the public to protect the harbour and participate more deeply in future town planning, the scale and plan of the project are yet to be decided. There will also be a railway station and maintenance centre in the proposed plan for the Shatin to Central Link.

There were also proposals to dredge the runway to form several islands for housing, to build a terminal capable of accommodating cruise ships the size of the Queen Mary 2, and more recently, to house the Hong Kong Sports Institute, as well as several stadia, in the case that the institute is forced to move so that the equestrian events of the 2008 Summer Olympics may be held at its present site in Sha Tin.

After the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong judgement that no reclamation on the Victoria Harbour could not be introduced, unless it passed an "overriding public interest" test on January 9, 2004^[2], the Government abandoned the plan which was passes in July 2002.

[edit] Kai Tak Planning Review

The Government set up a "Kai Tak Planning Review" in July 2004 for further public consultation^[3]. A number of blueprints have been presented.

[edit] June 2006 blueprint

A blueprint for the redevelopment of Kai Tak issued by the government in June 2006. Under these proposals hotels would be scattered throughout the 328-hectare site, and flats aimed at housing 86,000 new residents were proposed.

Other features of the plan include :

• two planned cruise terminals
• a giant stadium

[edit] October 2006 blueprint

The Planning Department unveiled a major reworking of its plans^[4] for the old Kai Tak airport site on October 17, 2006, containing "a basket of small measures designed to answer a bevy of concerns raised by the public". The revised blueprint will also extend several "green corridors" from the main central park into the surrounding neighborhoods of Kowloon City, Kowloon Bay and Ma Tau Kok.

Included in the revised plan, the following features are proposed

• two planned cruise terminals, and a third terminal could be added if the need arises
• a luxury hotel complex near the cruise terminals. The complex would be about seven storeys, and with hotel rooms above and tourist-related or commercial space below.
• an eight-station monorail linking the tourist hub with Kwun Tong
• a giant stadium
• a "central park" to provide much-needed greenery
• a 200-metre high public "viewing tower" near the tip of the runway.
• a new bridge likely to involve further reclamation of Victoria Harbour.

the following are major changes

• The hotel spaces are to be centralized near the end of the runway, and will face out into the harbor towards Central
• A third terminal could be added at the foot of the hotel cluster if the need arises
• A second row of luxury residential spaces which face Kwun Tong, and will be placed on an elevated terrace or platform to preserve a view of the harbor.

The government has promised that :

• total amount of housing and hotel space would remain the same as proposed in June 2006,
• the plot ratios would also be the same levels as before.
• Total commercial space on the site will also remain about the same

A new bridge at the end of the runway joining the hotel district with Kwun Tong proposed by the government could be a potential source of controversy. Under the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance, no harbor reclamation can take place unless the Government can demonstrate to the courts that there is an "overriding public need" for it.

The new Kai Tak blueprint is to be presented to the Legislative Council on October 24, 2006 after review by the Town Planning Board.

[edit] References

1. ^ Planning history of Kai Tak
2. ^ Judgement :Town Planning Board v Society for the Protection of the Harbour. Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
3. ^ Kai Tak planning review. Government of the Hong Kong SAR. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
4. ^ Cheng, Jonathan (October 18, 2006). Kai Tak blueprint redrawn. Hong Kong Standard. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.

[edit] See also

• Hong Kong International Airport (the current airport at Chek Lap Kok that replaced Kai Tak)
• Transport in Hong Kong
• List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kai Tak Airport

• Video of a 747 landing on Kai Tak
• Map of what Kai Tak will become
• Videos, real & flight simulator for Kai Tak
• Kai Tak Instrument Approach Plates (IAP)
• An account by a Kai Tak Air Traffic Controller - Phil Parker
• Kai Tak Airport web site (The Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong)
• Pictures of the site of the Passenger Terminal as at November 2005
• History of Cathay Pacific and the 1948 hijack
• Jetphotos.net pictures from Kai Tak

[edit] Bad landings

Retrieved from Airliners.net, sorted by popularity, descending:

• China Airlines 747
• NCA 747
• United Airlines 747
• Malaysia Airlines 747
• Singapore Airlines 747
• Japan Airlines 747
• NCA 747
• NCA 747
• NCA 747