CAAC (中国民航), formerly the People's Aviation Company of China (中國人民航空公司), was the airline division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the monopoly civil airline in the People's Republic of China. It was founded on 17 July 1952, and merged into CAAC on 9 June 1953. In 1988, the monopoly was broken up and CAAC was split into six regional airlines, which later consolidated into China's Big Three airlines: Beijing-based Air China, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.

In 1962, CAAC began operating international services, initially to other countries in the communist bloc, such as the Soviet Union, Mongolia, North Korea, Laos, Burma, Bangladesh, North Vietnam, and Cambodia.^[1] By the mid-1980s, CAAC had long-haul service to the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, mainly using American Boeing aircraft, while continuing to use Soviet aircraft on routes to Eastern Europe.^[2]

In 1988, the State Council decided to split CAAC airline into six separate airlines, each named after the geographic region of their main operating areas:

• Air China, the flag carrier, based in Beijing, inherited the IATA and ICAO airline code of CAAC
• China Southwest Airlines, based in Chengdu (merged into Air China in 2002)
• China Eastern Airlines, based in Shanghai
• China Northwest Airlines, based in Xi'an (merged into China Eastern Airlines in 2002)
• China Southern Airlines, based in Guangzhou
• China Northern Airlines, based in Shenyang (merged into China Southern Airlines in 2003)

CAAC used the IATA code CA on international flights only; domestic flights were not prefixed with the airline code.

CAAC's aircraft livery featured the Chinese national flag on the vertical stabilizer, with blue stripe cheatline and Chinese version of CAAC logo (designed by Lu Shifang in 1965,^[3] with the calligraphy of Premier Zhou Enlai) on a white fuselage. The most of the livery designs, especially the blue stripe cheatline, were also used by Air China.

CAAC consisted of the following aircraft:^[5][6][7]

• On 30 August 1955, Lisunov Li-2 322 swerved off the runway on landing at Xijiao Airport, Beijing after losing hydraulic power; all four crew survived and the aircraft was undamaged, but a 12-year-old boy crouching in the grass and unnoticed by the crew died after he was hit by the aircraft. The hydraulic failure was caused by poor maintenance.^[8]
• On 9 July 1956, Aero Ae-45 958 crashed in Lushi County, Henan Province during a geological survey flight due to an inaccurate map and flawed operation protocol, killing all four on board.^[9]
• On 7 August 1956, Douglas C-47 101 crashed into a pit while taxiing near a short airstrip at Baoding; all 10 on board survived. The aircraft had been re-engined with Shvetsov ASh-62 engines.^[10]
• On 5 April 1958, Ilyushin Il-14 632 struck a mountain 70 km (43 mi) from Xi'an while flying too low, killing all 14 on board. The crew had violated minimum safe altitude requirements.^[11]
• On 26 September 1961, Shijiazhuang Y-5 18188 crashed into Qinglongshan (Blue Dragon Mountain), Henan Province, killing all 15 on board. The aircraft entered IMC conditions and the pilots, not qualified to fly in IMC, asked ATC to ascend to a high altitude to climb out of the clouds. ATC never responded and the pilots decided to descend below the clouds to get visual reference and struck the mountain in the process.^[12]
• On 1 September 1964, Shijiazhuang Y-5 18185 hit powerlines and crashed in Liaoyang County while spraying pesticide, killing both pilots. The pilot probably left the spraying area to dump leftover pesticide before returning.^[13]
• On 15 February 1966, Shijiazhuang Y-5 18152 struck trees and crashed in a mountainous area in Yongdeng County, Gansu Province due to a navigation error; all four on board survived.^[14]
• On 26 April 1966, Shijiazhuang Y-5 18027 crashed in Zhenning Buyi and Miao Autonomous County, Guizhou Province during an aerial seeding flight, killing both pilots. The aircraft entered a valley that it could not climb out of and it crashed and burned.^[15]
• On 5 December 1968, a CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed near Beijing Capital International Airport after an unexplained loss of altitude on approach (probably due to wind shear), killing 13 of 14 on board, including scientist Guo Yonghuai.^[16] The same day, another Il-14 (640) also crashed at Beijing Capital International Airport due to pilot error, killing both pilots. This crash site was only 200 m (660 ft) from the first Il-14 crash.^[17]
• On 15 November 1969, Ilyushin Il-14 618 struck Mount Taiping, Wuning County at 600 m (2,000 ft) following a deviation from the flight course while flying through clouds, killing the six crew. The height of the mountain was incorrectly listed as 508 m (1,667 ft) on aeronautical charts when the actual height was 841 m (2,759 ft).^[18]
• On 15 October 1970, Harbin Z-5 (Chinese-built Mil Mi-4) 716 crashed at Beijing Capital International Airport due to tail rotor failure, killing all 10 on board. The separation was due to a design and manufacturing defect.^[19]
• On 14 November 1970, Ilyushin Il-14 616 struck a mountain near Guiyang. The crew deviated from the glidescope during the approach, probably to descend below clouds, after which the aircraft struck a hill and crashed.^[20]
• In May 1972, a CAAC Lisunov Li-2 overshot the runway at Dalian Zhoushuizi Airport, killing six.^{[citation needed]}
• On 14 January 1973, Ilyushin Il-14 644 struck a mountain near Guiyang, killing all 29 on board. The aircraft had deviated from the flight route due to pilot error.^[21]
• On 30 November 1974, CAAC Mil Mi-8 802 lost control while hovering and crashed at Kemerovo Airport; the helicopter was being delivered to CAAC.^[22]
• On 30 March 1975, Shijiazhuang Y-5 8091 struck a mountain in Dangtu County, Anhui Province while forest spraying.^[23]
• On 21 January 1976, Antonov An-24RV B-492 crashed on approach to Changsha Huanghua Airport, killing all 42 on board. Witnesses reported the aircraft descending below clouds and could not maintain a stable altitude before it banked left and crashed. Investigators could not come to a firm conclusion as to the cause because the aircraft did not have flight recorders, but left engine failure due to icing was blamed.^[24]
• On 1 June 1976, Shijiazhuang Y-5 8003 crashed at Dongzhai Town, Shanxi Province while forest spraying; both pilots survived. The engine had failed due to pilot error.^[25]
• On 27 February 1977, Ilyushin Il-18B B-204 descended too low and crashed on approach to Shenyang Dongta Airport in fog due to pilot and ATC errors, killing all 25 on board; one person on the ground also dies.^[26]
• On 7 June 1977, Shijiazhuang Y-5 8107 crashed in Gao'an County during an air dropping flight, killing three of five on board. The crew had become disorientated in bad weather.^[27]
• On 17 July 1977, Aerospatiale Alouette III 755 crashed in Linwu County, Hunan Province during a mineral survey flight due to engine failure, killing all four on board.^[28]
• On 26 August 1976, a CAAC Ilyushin Il-14 crashed on landing at Chengdu, killing 12 passengers.^{[citation needed]}
• On 8 January 1979, Lisunov Li-2 313 stalled and crashed shortly after takeoff from Shenyang Dongta Airport due to double engine failure; no casualties. The pilots selected a nearly empty fuel tank, causing both engines to quit. The pilots then put the aircraft into a stall and it crashed.^[29]
• On 14 March 1979, Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E B-274 was stolen at Xijiao Airport by a mechanic familiar with the aircraft and began takeoff roll without authorization. The aircraft barely gained altitude before it crashed into a factory, killing the pilot and 32 on the ground. The pilot probably stole the aircraft in revenge for injustice he felt in the PLAAF.^[30]
• On 20 March 1980, Antonov An-24RV B-484 stalled and crashed near Changsha Datuopu Airport while attempting a go-around, killing all 26 on board. The aircraft was operating a Kunming–Guiyang–Changsha passenger service.^[31]
• On 21 April 1981, MBB Bo 105C B-763 crashed shortly after takeoff from an oil rig in the Gulf of Tonkin off the Leizhou Peninsula, probably due to spatial disorientation, killing three of five on board; the two survivors were not wearing seat belts and escaped the sinking helicopter.^[32]
• On 26 April 1982, CAAC Flight 3303, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-266), struck a mountain in Gongchang County (60 km southeast of Guilin) while on approach to Guilin, killing all 112 on board. The aircraft was attached to the PLAAF's 34th Air Division and operating for CAAC.
• On 25 July 1982, CAAC Flight 2505, an Ilyushin Il-18V (B-220), was hijacked en route from Xi'an to Shanghai. The co-pilot and navigator were wounded and a bomb exploded when passengers overpowered the hijackers. The aircraft landed at Shanghai with two engines flamed out.^[33][34]
• On 24 December 1982, CAAC Flight 2311, an Ilyushin Il-18B (B-202), burst into flames while landing at Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, killing 25 of 69 on board. The fire was caused by a passenger's cigarette.
• On 5 May 1983, Six people hijacked CAAC Flight 296, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-296) en route from Shenyang Dongta Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, demanding to be flown to South Korea. The aircraft landed at the US Army base Camp Page in Chunchon, South Korea. The incident marked the first direct negotiations between South Korea and China, which did not have formal relations at the time.
• On 14 September 1983, CAAC Flight 264, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-264), was struck in the side by a PLAAF Harbin H-5 bomber while taxiing at Guilin Qifengling Airport. 11 of 106 on board were killed.
• On 25 June 1984, a CAAC aircraft was hijacked by a man armed with hand grenades and demanded to be flown to Taiwan. A passenger overpowered the hijacker and the aircraft continued to Fuzhou.^[35]
• On 18 January 1985, CAAC Flight 5109, an Antonov An-24B (B-434), crashed in drizzle and fog while performing a missed approach to Jinan, killing 38 of 41 on board.^[36]
• On 22 October 1985, Shorts 360-100 B-3606 was written off after overrunning the runway on landing at Enshi Airport; all 25 on board survived.^[37]
• On 15 December 1986, Antonov An-24RV B-3413 crashed while attempting to return to Lanzhou after an engine failed due to icing, killing 6 of 44 on board.^[38]
• On 16 June 1987, Boeing 737-2T4 B-2514 collided with a PLAAF Shenyang J-6 at Fuzhou Airport; the J-6 crashed, killing the pilot while the 737 landed safely.^[39]
• On 30 May 1988, Shijiazhuang Y-5B B-8167 struck the side of a cloud-shrouded mountain in Changsha while flying too low, killing all nine on board. The pilots had disobeyed minimum safe altitude requirements.^[40]
• On 31 August 1988, CAAC Flight 301 (operated by China Southern Airlines), a Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E (B-2218), struck approach lights at Kai Tak Airport and struck a lip, collapsing the right main landing gear; the aircraft then slid off the runway into Kowloon Bay, killing 7 of the 89 on board. The cause was undetermined, but windshear may have been a factor.^[41]

• List of defunct airlines of China