November
15, 2006: China released the investigation report of the crash of an
experimental AWACS aircraft last June. A lot of mystery surrounded the
incident, and the investigation report reveals why. Turns out that air force
commanders tried to cover up incompetence and poor leadership, which caused the
accident. Over a minute of tape on the black box was erased, and an attempt was
made to make it look like only 29, not 40, people died.
What
happened was that the twin engine aircraft, carrying a Chinese made
surveillance radar, had passed all its technical tests, and this last flight
was sort of a victory lap. That's where things began to go wrong. The aircraft
was overloaded, with 40, instead of 29 (the max capacity) people on board. The
aircraft flew through some chilly, moist air, at high altitude, which allowed
ice to form on the wings. This unbalanced the aircraft. Since most on board
were not wearing their seat belts, or even sitting down, the lurching aircraft
caused several people to be thrown to the rear of the aircraft, which increased
the imbalance and sent the aircraft out of control. Shortly thereafter, the
aircraft crashed, killing all 40 on board.
The
investigation resulted in several officers be demoted, dismissed or given
demerits (which tends to ruin promotion prospects.) In a way, it was a "good news/bad
news" situation. The good news was that the air force did not allow the
cover-up to succeed, and the guilty officers were punished. The bad news was
that this sort of thing is still going on. It's been an open secret for decades
that the air force was corrupt. This interfered with developing new equipment
and training. Too many officers were on the take. That has been turning around
over the last few years, and this investigation, and the publicity it was
given, is another example of that.
