Civil Aviation Administration of China

CAAC
中国民航
Founded	1949
Ceased operations	1987 (Split into six airlines)
Hubs	Beijing Capital; Shanghai Hongqiao; Guangzhou Baiyun; Chengdu Shuangliu; Xi'an Xiguan (closed in 1991); Shenyang Taoxian
Destinations	85 Cities, In 25 Countries (As of 1987)
Parent company	State Council
Headquarters	Beijing, China
Key people	Director of the General Office

Civil Aviation Administration of China
Civil Aviation Administration of China
中国民用航空局
Agency overview
Formed	1949
Jurisdiction	People's Republic of China
Headquarters	Dongcheng District, Beijing
Agency executive	Li Jiaxiang, Administrator of CAAC
Parent Agency	Ministry of Transport
Website
	www.caac.gov.cn

For the Latvian government agency formerly called the Civil Aviation Administration, see Latvian Civil Aviation Agency.

For the former Hungarian agency once called the "Civil Aviation Administration", see Civil Aviation Authority (Hungary).

CAAC headquarters

Flight Inspection Center of CAAC

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; Chinese: 中国民用航空局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Jú), formerly the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (Chinese: 中国民用航空总局; pinyin: Zhōngguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Zongjú), is the aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents.¹ As the aviation authority responsible for China, it concluded civil aviation agreements with other aviation authorities, including those of the Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China which are categorized as "special domestic".² The agency is headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing.³

The CAAC does not share the responsibility of managing China's airspace with the Central Military Commission under the regulations in the Civil Aviation Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国民用航空法, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Mínyòng Hángkōng Fǎ). Being subordinate to military traffic, non-commercial civil aviation is rather restricted. General and private aviation in mainland China is relatively rare compared to developed countries.

History

CAAC was formed on November 2, 1949, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China, to manage all non-military aviation in the country, as well as provide general and commercial flight service (similar to Aeroflot in the Soviet Union). It was initially managed by the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

CAAC Ilyushin Il-62 at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport in 1974

In 1963, China departed from its policies of Marxist self-sufficiency with a purchase of six Vickers Viscount aircraft from Great Britain, followed in 1971 with four Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft from Pakistan International Airlines. In August 1971 the airline purchased six Trident 2E's directly from Hawker Siddeley.⁴ The country also placed provisional orders for three Concorde aircraft. With the 1972 Nixon visit to China the country ordered 10 Boeing 707 jets. In December 1973 it took the unprecedented step of borrowing £40 million from Western banks to fund the purchase of 15 additional Trident jets. Russian built Ilyushin Il-62 aircraft were used on long range routes during the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1980 the airline was transferred to the direct control of the State Council.

In 1987 the airline division of CAAC was divided up into a number of airlines, each named after the region of China where it had its hub. Since then, CAAC acts solely as a government agency and no longer provides commercial flight service.

In March 2008, CAAC was made a subsidiary of the newly created Ministry of Transport, and its official Chinese name was slightly adjusted to reflect it being no longer a ministry-level agency. Its official English name has remained Civil Aviation Administration of China.

CAAC as an airline

CAAC Boeing 707

A CAAC Boeing 747SP at Charles de Gaulle Airport. (1981)

A CAAC Boeing 747-200B at Osaka International Airport, Japan, ca. 1990

CAAC began operating scheduled domestic flights to cities in China in 1949.

In 1962, CAAC began operating international services, initially to other countries in the Communist bloc such as the Soviet Union, Mongolia, North Korea, Burma, Bangladesh, North Vietnam, and Cambodia.⁵ By the mid-1980s, CAAC had long-haul service to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, mainly using American Boeing aircraft, while continuing to use Soviet aircraft on routes to Eastern Europe.⁶

The Boeing customer code for CAAC was J6, which was inherited by Air China until 1999.

Separation

In 1987, CAAC split into 6 separate airlines each named after the geographic region of the location of their headquarters and main operation areas:

Air China (which inherited the IATA and ICAO code of the original CAAC),
China Eastern Airlines (based in Shanghai),
China Southern Airlines (based in Guangzhou),
China Northwest Airlines (based in Xi'an),
China Northern Airlines (based in Shenyang), and
China Southwest Airlines (based in Chengdu).

CAAC used the IATA code CA on international flights only, domestic flights were not prefixed with the airline code.

CAAC aircraft livery featured Chinese national flag on the vertical stabilizer, with blue stripes and Chinese version of CAAC logo (autographed by Zhou Enlai) on a white fuselage.

CAAC's fleet In 1987

General aviation

Fleet retired before 1987

Ilyushin Il-14 (Left Service in 1982)
Ilyushin Il-62 (Left Service in 1986)
Lisunov Li-2 (Left service in 1981)
Lockheed L-188 (Left service in 1980)
Shanghai Y-10 (Prototype, flew for less than a year, did not enter into service)
Vickers Vanguard (Left Service in 1984)

Major incidents

On September 26, 1961, a CAAC Shijiazhuang Y-5, 18188, struck the side of a mountain, killing all 15 on board.⁷

In May 1972, a CAAC Lisunov Li-2 overshot the runway at Dalian Airport, killing 6 occupants.^{citation needed}

On January 21, 1976, a CAAC Antonov An-24, registration B-492, crashed on approach to Changsha Huanghua International Airport, killing all 40 on board.⁸

On August 26, 1976, a CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed during landing in Chengdu, killing 12 passengers.^{citation needed}

On March 14, 1979, a CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, registration B-274, crashed into a factory in Beijing on climbout from Xijiao Airport during a training flight, killing all 12 on board and 32 on the ground.⁹

On April 26, 1982, CAAC Flight 3303, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, crashed into a mountain near Yangsuo while on approach to Guilin, killing all 112 people on board.

On December 24, 1982, CAAC Flight 2311, an Ilyushin Il-18B, registration B-202, burst into flames while landing at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, killing 25 of the 69 passengers on board.¹⁰

On May 5, 1983, a CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, registration B-296, was hijacked and landed at a U.S. military base in South Korea. The incident marked the first direct negotiations between South Korea and China, which did not have formal relations at the time.¹¹

On September 14, 1983, a CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, registration B-264, collided with an Ilyushin Il-28 fighter jet while taxiing at Guilin Airport. Eleven of 106 on board were killed.¹²

On January 18, 1985, CAAC Flight 5109, an Antonov An-24B, registration B-434, crashed in drizzle and fog while performing a missed approach to Jinan, killing 38 of the 41 on board.¹³

On December 15, 1986, a CAAC Antonov An-24RV, registration B-3413, crashed while attempting to return to Lanzhou after an engine failed due to icing, killing 6 of the 44 on board.¹⁴

On August 31, 1988, CAAC Flight 301, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E, struck approach lights at Kai Tak Airport and struck a lip, collapsing the right main landing gear; the aircraft then slid off the runway into Kowloon Bay, killing 7 of the 89 on board. The cause was undetermined, but windshear may have been a factor.

References

^ http://www.anpac.it/download/Vari/08LEGBL01_IFALPA_Legal_Directory.pdf
^ the citation is in the treaty "Air Services Arrangement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" which calls intranational service as "specially managed domestic" this needs a proper ref statement.
^ "English." Civil Aviation Administration of China. Retrieved on June 9, 2009. "北京市东城区东四西大街155号."
^ Tridents for China, Flight International, 2 September 1971, p. 348
^ 1964 timetable scans
^ 1985 route map
^ Accident description for 18188 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-492 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-274 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-202 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Hijacking description for B-296 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-264 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-434 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.
^ Accident description for B-3413 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Civil Aviation Administration of China

CAAC Official site (Chinese (PRC))
CAAC Official site (Archive)
Flight Inspection Center of CAAC (English)/(Chinese (PRC))
China - Civil Aviation
Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, Civil Aviation Safety Institute (Chinese (PRC))

[1] ttp://www.anpac.it/download/Vari/08LEGBL01_IFALPA_Legal_Directory.pdf

[2] the citation is in the treaty "Air Services Arrangement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" which calls intranational service as "specially managed domestic" this needs a proper ref statement.

[3] "English." Civil Aviation Administration of China. Retrieved on June 9, 2009. "北京市东城区东四西大街155号."

[4] Tridents for China, Flight International, 2 September 1971, p. 348

[5] 1964 timetable scans

[6] 1985 route map

[7] Accident description for 18188 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[8] Accident description for B-492 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[9] Accident description for B-274 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[10] Accident description for B-202 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[11] Hijacking description for B-296 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[12] Accident description for B-264 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[13] Accident description for B-434 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

[14] Accident description for B-3413 at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 21 January 2013.

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