On 20 August 2007 the Boeing 737-809 (WL) aircraft operating the flight caught fire and exploded after landing and taxiing to the gate area at Naha Airport.

Ground crew noticed flames coming from engine number 2 as Captain You Chien-kou shut it down in anticipation of gate connection.

After the last flight attendant had fled from the right aft hatch, Captain You and First Officer Tseng Ta-wei, the last two people on board, exited the aircraft through the cockpit window.

[citation needed] According to Naha Airport air traffic control, the status of the aircraft was normal in that there was no report of any abnormal situation during cruising or landing.

At a news conference on August 24, investigators revealed that a bolt, which had come loose from the slat track, had punctured the right wing fuel tank, creating a hole 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) in diameter.

[9] In the stock trading after the accident, China Airlines stock fell along with Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance Co.[citation needed] Due to the accident, on August 25, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered emergency inspections of wing leading-edge slat tracks on all Next Generation Boeing 737 aircraft.

The Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) from the FAA required operators to inspect the slat track downstop to check for missing parts, ensure proper installation, and check the inside of the slat can for foreign object debris and damage, with the first inspection required within 24 days and a reinspection every 3000 flight cycles thereafter.

[10] Following feedback from completed inspections revealing loose parts in several other aircraft and one with a damaged slat can, the FAA issued a new emergency airworthiness directive on August 28.

In addition, the ADs required a one-time torquing of the nut and bolt in the downstop assembly for the slat track within 24 days.

[citation needed] With regard to the detachment of the washer, it is considered probable that the following factors contributed to this: Despite the fact that the nut was in a location difficult to access or inspect during maintenance, neither the manufacturer nor the airline paid sufficient attention to this when preparing the service letter and engineering order job card, respectively.

[citation needed] The Japan Transport Safety Board recommended the Civil Aeronautics Administration of Taiwan to supervise China Airlines to take the following actions: when planning and implementing maintenance jobs, the scope of jobs should be fully ascertained and the working conditions and environments should be appropriately evaluated, and the countermeasures to prevent maintenance errors including the actions taken in 2009 against the recurrence of this accident should be steadfastly implemented and enhanced.