Post war, it relocated its headquarters to Shanghai and saw a major development of flight routes due to the post-war transition.

[8]: 26–27 However, as China plunged into a civil war between Nationalists and Communists, the country, lacking resources, struggled to repair wartime damages and improve infrastructure.

[1] The civil war led to a period of hyperinflation, severely impacting the profitability of airlines despite significant increases in ticket prices.

[8]: 41–42 24 kilometres north to Longhua, Jiangwan airport was operated by the US military, which had adopted a ground control approach (GCA) system ensuring safe landing during poor weather.

The aircraft arrived at Nanjing's Ming Palace Airport at around 3:00 PM, where it embarked three additional passengers before departing for Shanghai.

The wreckage of CA Flight 48 was later discovered 200 metres north of Jiangwan Airport, having crashed into a local residential building.

The tragic incident resulted in the deaths of all seven passengers and four crew members on board, as well as one local resident, and injuries to four people.

[8]: 67–68 [12] CNAC Flight 140, operated by a Douglas DC-3, departed from Chongqing's Shanhuba Airport at 10:15 with scheduled stops in Wuchang and Nanjing en route to its final destination of Shanghai.

Despite circling over Jiangwan for almost an hour, the aircraft was unable to land due to partial radio failure caused by low voltage.

[8]: 71  The crash instantly killed 20 of the 27 passengers and all three crew members: Captain James Greenwood, First Officer Liu Linseng and Radio Operator Jin Keng.

Upon approaching Shanghai at 5:30 PM, the aircraft failed to establish contact with Jiangwan Airport and aborted a blind landing.

Local villagers immediately started rescue and rushed to Shanghai High School nearby to inform CNAC via telephone.

[11] After the tragedy, the National People's Congress held a meeting and proposed a temporary motion to dismiss the Minister of Transport, Yu Ta-wei [zh], and the heads of both the Central and China Airlines.

Regarding the C-46 and C-47 aircraft involved in the incident, Dai Jitao's son, Tai An-kuo [zh], who was the Director of Civil Aviation at the time, was forced to admit that these transport planes, originally used for wartime needs, had already been discontinued in the United States.

The Shanghai District Court's Prosecution Office later determined that the airline's lack of proper blind landing and night flying equipment was one of the causes of the crash.

Additionally, on 1 July 1947, the Longhua Air Station was established to manage domestic civil aviation flight dispatching.