Far Eastern Transport Flight 104

Crash site of Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104
Accident
Date	February 24, 1969 (1969-02-24)
Summary	Engine failure
Site	Near Tainan City, Taiwan
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Handley Page Dart Herald
Operator	Far Eastern Air Transport
Registration	B-2009
Flight origin	Kaohsiung International Airport
Destination	Taipei Songshan Airport
Occupants	36
Passengers	32
Crew	4
Fatalities	36
Survivors	0

Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 104 was a short-haul flight from Kaohsiung International Airport to Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan using a Handley Page Dart Herald 201 that crashed on 24 February 1969 upon its approach for an emergency landing in Tainan Airport in Taiwan.^[1]

• Aircraft model: Handley Page Dart Herald 201^[2]
• Manufacturing serial number (msn): 157
• Registration: B-2009^[1][2]

On February 24, 1969, the B-2009 aircraft carried out the FE104 flight that ended the Spring Festival holiday and flew from Kaohsiung International Airport to Taipei Songshan Airport. The flight took off at 12:03 pm, after a 13-minute delay from 11:50 am. Ten minutes after take-off, the captain told the Tainan Airport Tower that an engine failure had occurred. The aircraft's port-side engine had failed, leaving its propeller windmilling and the aircraft in a shallow descent. The flight crew decided to divert to Tainan Airport in Tainan City. Moments after receiving clearance for an emergency landing, however, the aircraft passed over a wooded area, belly-landed in a small clearing and skidded into a creek. The aircraft broke into three parts and caught fire, killing all on board.^[1]

The right engine had been severely damaged, likely during takeoff, causing the aircraft to quickly lose altitude.^[2]