The event occurred off the coast of Hainan Island, where the plane was en route from Bangkok to Hong Kong, killing 10 of 19 passengers and crew on board.

[2][2][5] Although the aircraft was originally manufactured for the USAAF as a Douglas C-54 Skymaster, it was subsequently converted to civilian airliner standard, and sold firstly to KLM, and later to Cathay Pacific.

While captain Phil Blown took evasive actions to avoid further damage, co-pilot Cedric Carlton issued blankets to passengers instructing them to place them on the back of their seats for protection against the bullets.

Radio operator Stephen Wong made an initial distress call at 23:45 GMT: "Kai Tak Tower, Cathay XXX, Mayday!

Travelling at 350 miles per hour (560 km/h; 300 kn), Blown tried his utmost to evade incendiary bullets fired by the fighters by taking evasive action, weaving the Skymaster left and right.

Approximately two minutes after the initial attack, unable to maintain controlled levelled flight, Blown decided to ditch the Skymaster in rough open seas that included 15-foot (5 m) waves and a 25-knot (13 m/s) wind.

The Sunderland acknowledged this by setting off a smoke flare but, unable to land in the atrocious conditions, had to circle helplessly for two hours until Woodyard's Albatross finally arrived; this too circled for an hour before landing on the calmer side of Dazhou Island, where it taxied towards the dinghy in rough water before pulling all survivors on board and taking off for Hong Kong, escorted by the Sunderland.

[21] The last passenger to be hoisted on board was the badly injured Rita Cheung, who had broken her left leg in two places and had suffered a deep gash on her forehead.

[7][11][12][13][17] There were several hypotheses for the attack, which included: The official line from Peking was that the Cathay Pacific airliner was mistaken as a Republic of China plane on a mission to raid a military base at Port Yulin on Hainan Island.

[22] On 26 July 1954, during the survivor search operation, two Douglas A-1 Skyraiders of VA-54 from the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea shot down two PLAAF La-7s off the coast of Hainan Island.

Republican Representative Walter Judd, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed the view that the incident was another reason why Communist China must not be admitted to the United Nations.

He continued flying for Cathay Pacific for three to four years after the incident, and then retired to New South Wales, Australia, where he died in a nursing home in September 2009, aged 96.

Former Cathay Pacific director of flight operations, Nick Rhodes, has commented on the bravery shown by Captain Blown on that day, and commended him for the dedication he showed to ensuring the survival of his passengers.