China Southern Airlines Jilin Branch recently experienced a violent conflict. A captain, dissatisfied with the company’s performance evaluation, got into a dispute with the company’s leadership, leading to the deaths and injuries of three senior executives and one employee. The captain later tragically fell to his death from a high building.
Reports from mainland China indicate that the captain surnamed Li was the captain of an Airbus A321 at Southern Airlines. The incident occurred around 11 a.m. on July 1st when Captain Li lost control of his emotions during negotiations about the evaluation in the office of the flight department, subsequently attacking the party secretary of the flight department, Mr. Liu, and the manager, Mr. Zhu, causing serious injuries. The chairman of the labor union and a ground staff member, who intervened to stop the altercation, were also unfortunately injured. Afterward, Captain Li went to the 15th floor of the office building, shattered the glass, and fell to his death.
According to an internal “investigation report” that was disclosed, Captain Li had been previously evaluated as “unqualified.” The report stated that he had insufficient grasp of flight procedures and regulations, such as procedures for handling communication failures and the electronic door lock password in the cockpit. The company recommended retraining him and lowering his evaluation.
Upon the news surfacing, Chinese netizens were quick to voice their opinions. Some believed Captain Li’s reaction was overly aggressive, stating that his temperament was fundamentally unsuitable for being a captain. Others questioned if there might be hidden motives behind the incident and called for a thorough investigation to uncover the truth. Some netizens expressed relief that his loss of control did not occur during a flight to avoid another tragedy.
Some netizens even drew connections to the 2022 China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 air crash, raising concerns that if pilots’ psychological issues are not promptly addressed, it could lead to another serious accident. The 2022 air crash resulted in the deaths of 132 people, and to date, the official comprehensive investigation results have not been disclosed, purportedly due to concerns about “affecting national security and social stability,” leaving the public even more unsettled.
Currently, China Southern Airlines has refused to comment on the incident, while the police have only mentioned that they are investigating without disclosing further details. We will continue to monitor any developments in the future.