On 15 April 1999, the McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operating the route, registered as HL7373, crashed in Xinzhuang, Shanghai shortly after taking off from Hongqiao Airport, killing all 3 crew on board, along with 5 on the ground.

Therefore, the captain pushed the control column abruptly forward, causing the aircraft to descend at over 34,000 feet per minute (10,000 m/min).

At 4:04 pm, the aircraft became uncontrollable due to the steep dive and eventually crashed into an industrial zone in Xinzhuang, which is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi; 5.4 nmi) southwest of Hongqiao Airport.

[3] The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter with the registration HL7373 and serial number 48409, powered by three Pratt & Whitney PW4460 engines.

In June 2001, further investigation carried out by CAAC showed that the first officer had confused 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), the required altitude, with 1,500 feet (460 m), causing the pilot to make the wrong decision to descend.