Boeing 747-400

The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The "Advanced Series 300" was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, targeting a 10% cost reduction with more efficient engines and 1,000 nautical miles [nmi] (1,900 km; 1,200 mi) of additional range. Northwest Airlines became the first customer with an order for 10 aircraft on October 22, 1985. The first 747-400 was rolled out on January 26, 1988, and made its maiden flight on April 29, 1988. Type certification was received on January 9, 1989, and it entered service with NWA on February 9, 1989.

A 747-400ER of Qantas, seen at Melbourne Airport in 2011.

It retains the 747 airframe, including the 747-300 stretched upper deck, with 6-foot (1.8 m) winglets. The 747-400 offers a choice of improved turbofans: the Pratt & Whitney PW4000, General Electric CF6-80C2 or Rolls-Royce RB211-524G/H. Its two-crew glass cockpit dispenses with the need for a flight engineer. It typically accommodates 416 passengers in a three-class layout over a 7,285 nmi (13,492 km; 8,383 mi) range with its 875,000-pound (397 t) maximum takeoff weight (MTOW).

The first -400M combi was rolled out in June 1989. The -400D Domestic for the Japanese market, without winglets, entered service on October 22, 1991. The -400F cargo variant, without the stretched upper deck, was first delivered in May 1993. With an increased MTOW of 910,000 lb (410 t), the extended range version entered service in October 2002 as the -400ERF freighter and the -400ER passenger version the following month. Several 747-400 aircraft have undergone freighter conversion or other modifications to serve as transports of heads of state, YAL-1 laser testbed, engine testbed or the Spirit of Mojave air launcher. The Dreamlifter is an outsize cargo conversion designed to move Dreamliner components.

With 694 delivered over the course of 20 years from 1989 to 2009, it was the best-selling 747 variant. Its closest competitors were the smaller McDonnell Douglas MD-11 trijet and Airbus A340 quadjet. It has been superseded by the stretched and improved Boeing 747-8, introduced in October 2011. Beginning the late 2010s, 747-400 passenger aircraft began being phased out by airlines in favor of long-range, wide-body twinjet aircraft, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A350.

Turkish Airlines Flight 6491

Turkish Airlines Flight 6491 was a scheduled international cargo flight operated by ACT Airlines on behalf of Turkish Cargo, from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. On 16 January 2017, the Boeing 747-400F flying the route crashed in a residential area while attempting to land in thick fog at Manas International Airport, Bishkek. A total of 39 people – all four crew members on board and 35 residents on the ground – were killed.

The crash site and the wreckage of Flight 6491

The subsequent investigation found that the aircraft failed to properly acquire the instrument landing system's signal, remaining significantly higher than the correct approach path while overflying the entire length of the runway; it then collided with houses seconds after initiating a go-around.

Features

Non-AI-Friendly Version

Notes

This operated by ACT Airlines
AI-Friendly version

Real Photos

Wreckage of the tail after crash in night

Aftermath of plane crash

Wreckage of the house

Route of landing

The flight path of Flight 6491 with excerpts of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript

Black Box of the Flight 6491

Flight data recording of the Flight 6491

The aircraft involved, seen at Hong Kong-Chek Lap Kok International Airport 4 months before the accident

The aircraft involved, seen at Maastricht Aachen Airport, 5 days before the accident

9V-SFL, the Boeing 747-412F involved in the crash when the plane was still operating for Singapore Airlines Cargo in 2008

9V-SFL, the Boeing 747-412F involved in the crash when the plane was still operating for Singapore Airlines Cargo in 2007

9V-SFL, the Boeing 747-412F involved in the crash when the plane was still operating for Singapore Airlines Cargo in 2005