Far Eastern Air Transport Flight 103

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-222 registered as B-2603 with line number 151 and manufacturer's serial number 19939.

The aircraft had previously lost cabin pressure on 5 August; and earlier on the day of the crash, it had departed Songshan Airport, but the crew aborted the flight 10 minutes later for the same reason. After repairs were made, the aircraft departed Songshan Airport again bound for Kaohsiung International Airport. 14 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft suffered an explosive decompression and disintegrated. The wreckage was scattered across an area {{convert|4|mi|km|0}} long, located some {{convert|94|mi|km}} south of Taipei. The nose section landed in Sanyi Township, Miaoli County. Other debris landed in the townships of Yuanli, Tongluo, and Tongxiao. Of the 110 people on board, one passenger was found alive but died on the way to a hospital; in the end, no one aboard survived.{{Cite news |date=23 August 1981 |title=AIRLINER THAT CRASHED IN TAIWAN, KILLING 110, HAD PRESSURE SNAGS |edition=Late City Final |page=3 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/23/world/airliner-that-crashed-in-taiwan-killing-110-had-pressure-snags.html |access-date=6 January 2012}} After the accident, due to it occurring in a mountainous region, road traffic was backed up. The remains of the victims were driven to the Shengxing railway station, from where they were transported by train.{{Cite news|date=30 August 1981|title=U.S. Experts to Probe Crash.|work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|agency=Associated Press|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yJ0cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_GcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5840,6400739&dq=far+eastern+air+transport+crash+taipei&hl=en|access-date=6 January 2012}}

Although early speculation indicated that the crash was caused by an explosive device, an investigation by the Republic of China Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that severe corrosion led to a pressure-hull rupture. The severe corrosion was due to the many pressurization flight cycles the aircraft had experienced, and that cracks produced were probably undetected.{{Cite web|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19810822-0|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-222 B-2603 Miao-Li|last=Ranter|first=Harro|website=aviation-safety.net|access-date=2018-07-24}}

• Kuniko Mukōda, a Japanese TV screenwriter, was heading to Kaohsiung for a festival.{{Cite news |last= |date=1981-08-24 |title=Around the World; One Body Still Missing In Taiwan Air Disaster |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/24/world/around-the-world-one-body-still-missing-in-taiwan-air-disaster.html |access-date=2021-04-26 |issn=0362-4331}}

• Japan Air Lines Flight 123
• China Airlines Flight 611
• Aloha Airlines Flight 243
• Continental Express Flight 2574
• BOAC Flight 781
• Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101

{{reflist}}

• [http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19810822-0 Aviation Safety Network]
• [http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0973974/M/ Airliners.net] Photos of the airline
• UK CAA Document CAA 429 World Airline Accident Summary (ICAO Summary 4/76)

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981}}

{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Taiwan}}

Category:August 1981 in Asia

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1981

Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Taiwan

Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Original

Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure

Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by maintenance errors

Category:1981 disasters in Taiwan