China Southern Airlines deemed the airport where Henan Airlines flight 8387 crashed on Tuesday night unsafe for night flights 'in principle' about a year ago, according to a copy of an internal memo posted on the internet.
The news came as safety specialists tried to determine the cause of the fatal crash at the airport in Yichun , Heilongjiang .
The memo, dated August 1, last year, cited the complicated landscape surrounding Lindu Airport.
It also suggested banning flights to Yichun during rainy nights and on days when rain was of at least medium intensity.
The Brazilian-manufactured E190 with 96 people on board, including five crew, was en route from Harbin, the provincial capital, to Yichun and landed about 1 kilometre from the runway at about 9.30pm.
Quoting Sun Bangnan , deputy chief of the provincial Public Security Department, China News Service reported yesterday that visibility was less than 300 metres when the plane suddenly bounced off the ground and broke in half before it burst into flames, killing 42 and seriously injuring six.
