Officials insist it's too early to speculate

As speculation surrounding the possible causes of Saturday's deadly China Airlines crash continued to mount, Aviation Safety Council investigators declined to lend credence to any one theory yesterday.

"We don't do analysis or conclude causes until enough evidence and information are collected," Kay Yong (戎凱), head of the council, said.

The council said on Sunday that the airliner with 225 people aboard had broken apart into four huge pieces at an altitude of more than 9,144m.

Three main pieces went in a southwest direction after the disintegration, as shown on military radar, while the other piece flew the opposite way, Yong said.

Yong said that while the council will not rule out any possibilities, it will not speculate on possible causes of the crash as key evidence such as the "black boxes" -- the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder -- have not yet been found.

Meanwhile, the council established an investigation center in Penghu yesterday, where the debris would be reconstructed for further analysis.

Yong said that the center would not be dissolved until 80 percent of the debris is recovered.

The council said it aims to complete debris recovery work within 30 days.

The Coast Guard Administration, collected several pieces of the aircraft yesterday, including one piece that was more than 30m long.

However, officials said that the debris recovered thus far accounts for less than 1 percent of the airplane.

Experts from the US aerospace firm Boeing, the jumbo jet's manufacturer, and from Pratt and Whitney, the engine's manufacturer, arrived in Taiwan on Sunday to assist in the investigation and to begin the task of reconstructing the debris.

Other experts from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the US National Transportation Safety Board will join an investigation meeting held by the council in Penghu today, officials said.

The two agencies are joining the investigation as representatives of the country where the crashed airplane was registered.

Meanwhile, National Security Bureau officials yesterday ruled out the possibility that the plane was hit by a stray Chinese missile from a missile test.

"We haven't found any evidence suggesting the possibility of a missile launch," said Huang Lai (黃磊), the deputy director of the bureau.