Taiwan Airliner Crashes; All 54 Aboard Feared Dead

A China Airlines’ Boeing 737 carrying 54 people crashed into a mountain and burned today just after taking off from the eastern city of Hualien, and all aboard were feared dead, officials said.

All were Taiwanese except for a passenger identified as a businessman from California. The airline gave his name as J. W. Philips. It did not provide a hometown.

The jet was en route from Hualien to Taipei, 93 miles away. Witnesses on a nearby highway said they could see the flames from the wreckage.

Hualien police said about 130 rescuers rushed to the crash site near Chia Min, a village of about 2,000 people. The site was accessible only by foot. It was expected to take them hours to reach the plane, and they were slowed by rain and darkness.

The jet left Hualien at 6:54 p.m. and crashed five minutes later, according to officials of the airline, Taiwan’s national flag carrier. It said there were 47 passengers and seven crew members. Airline spokesman Lodge Lo said all were believed killed.

It was raining when the plane took off, but the cause of the crash was not known. No other details were immediately available.

In Seattle, where Boeing is based, Boeing Commercial Airplanes spokesman Tom Cole identified the aircraft as a 737-200 delivered to China Airlines in December, 1986. He had no other details.

Taiwan’s worst air disaster was in 1981, when 110 people died in the crash of a Far Eastern Air Transport Boeing 737.