On 26 April 1994 , the Airbus A300B4-622R was completing a routine flight and approach , when , just seconds before landing at Nagoya Airport , it slammed into the ground , killing 264 of the 271 people on board . To date , the accident remains the deadliest accident in the history of China Airlines , and the second-deadliest aviation accident on Japanese soil , behind Japan Airlines Flight 123 . It is also the third-deadliest aviation accident or incident involving an Airbus A300 , after Iran Air Flight 655 and later American Airlines Flight 587
Japan Airlines Flight 123
Japan Airlines Flight 123
China Airlines Flight 140