Hong Kong was settled long before aircraft and air travel existed. Nestled comfortably
between the South China Sea and the hilly terrain of the Chinese coastline, Hong Kong
was already a densely populated area before airports were a foundational aspect of large
urban centers.
Before Hong Kong’s current airport on Chek Lap Kok island, there was Kai Tak.
With its runway given the nickname “Kai Tak Heart Attack”, the airport was well
known among pilots and passengers for its hair raising approach...
According to Atlas Obscura, Kai Tak was built in 1925 on reclaimed land in Kowloon Bay,
opposite Hong Kong Island. Surrounding the airport were three elements less-than-ideal
for aircraft landings: mountainous terrain, water, and eventually tall apartment buildings.
The airport was first used as a flying club and a military airfield but, post-WWII, it
was converted to be a base for ‘national’ airline Cathay Pacific.
As the city and its airline continued to grow in the post-war period, a new runway was built
in 1958. Jutting out into Victoria Harbor, the “Kai Tak Heart Attack”, or Runway
13/31, ensured that pilot skills remained sharp while testing the resolve of passengers
looking out the window. “Kai Tak was one of the last major airports
in the world where you really had to rely on basic flying skills—‘stick and rudder’—and
we were all a bit sad when it closed,” –Captain Dave Newbery via Atlas Obscura
If an aircraft was cleared to land on the runway, it would have to do the following:
Begin its approach across the busy Victoria Harbor and the densely populated area of Kowloon.
Veer right upon seeing “Checkerboard Hill”—an orange-and-white painted marker above a park.
This 47-degree turn would be at low-altitude, and at a speed of roughly 200 miles per hour,
approximately two nautical miles from the runway.
Fly over apartment buildings and busy streets to finally touch down on the famous runway.
Clearly, landing at Kai Tak was a test of piloting skills on the best of days. However,
the true test of one’s skills would take place during less-than-ideal weather conditions.
“I was flying into Kai Tak with my wife on the jumpseat. The weather was pretty awful,
and halfway through the turn onto finals, a vicious rainstorm came across the airfield
and I totally lost sight of the runway. I had to execute a missed approach, which was
quite hard work.” –Captain Dave Newbery Receiving large passenger jets for decades,
it’s no surprise that the airport and its challenging location claimed a few aircraft
over time. According to The Daily Mail, the airport suffered 12 air disasters during its
time in oepration, killing a total of 270 people. Close to its 1998 closure, the airport
was handling nearly 30 million passengers per year.
The deadliest single incident involved a US Marines Hercules flight. The aircraft plunged
into the harbor shortly after take-off in 1965. As a result, 59 passengers on board
the aircraft were killed. Just two years later, 24 passengers were killed during a typhoon
landing in 1967. Then, in 1993 a Boeing 747 overran the runway. This was also during a
typhoon. It’s clear from our website’s followers,
some of whom were pilots, that Kai Tak had a special place in commercial aviation. While
it was probably despised by several insurance companies, plane spotters and pilots alike
would have immensely enjoyed this unique approach. The airport finally closed in 1998 and gave
way to the Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok that we are now familiar with
today. Still, Kai Tak is a significant part of Hong
Kong history and is well-remembered through the stunning photos taken over the past decades.
Did you ever fly into Kai Tak airport? Share your experiences in
the comments!