Description

At 12:36 on August 24 1999, local time (04:36 UTC), UNI AIR Flight No. 873 (serving Taipei - Hualien) had just landed and was rolling on Runway 21 at the Hualien Airport, when a explosion was heard in the front section of the passenger cabin, followed by smoke and then fire. The pilot immediately braked, brought the aircraft to a stop on the runway. Then, after lowering the passenger evacuation slides and initiating an emergency passenger evacuation, the pilot proceeded to call the tower for help. Upon receiving this call, fire squads at both the Hualien Airport and the Air Force Wing rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire. The fire was eventually put out at 13:45. While the upper part of the fuselage was completely destroyed, 90 passengers plus the crew of 6 was safely evacuated. Casualties included 14 seriously wounded passengers and another 14 that suffered minor injuries. Most of the wounded passengers suffered burns. Fragments produced by the explosion struck 1 passenger.