News / Fire destroys Cainiao aircraft, pushing focus back on lithium batteries

Aviastar

An Aviastar-TU Tupolev Tu-204C caught fire at Hangzhou-Xiaoshan Airport in the early hours of Saturday – all eight crew members survived, but the aircraft did not.

The Cainiao-liveried aircraft was operated on behalf of Alibaba’s logistics arm, with which Aviastar first signed a deal in 2018 for flights out of Hangzhou.

The aircraft was due to fly to Novosibirsk with 20 tonnes of general cargo. According to Aviation Herald, the aircraft was being pushed back for departure when the fire began.

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