The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said that TransAsia Airways Flight GE235, which crashed into the Keelung River on Wednesday, would prevent the carrier from participating in the allocation of international air traffic rights for one year.
CAA air transport division Director Han Chen-hua (韓振華) said that TransAsia has already been banned from being allocated international air traffic rights because of the TransAsia Airways Flight GE222 crash in Penghu County on July 23 last year.
Han said that the previous ban was due to be lifted on July 23 this year, however, Wednesday’s incident means the airline would be unable to apply for air rights allocation for another year, adding that the new ban was effective as of Wednesday.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Han said that the airline faces partial or complete termination of its operational permit if an Aviation Safety Council investigation determines that the airline violated aviation regulations, adding that the ban will not apply to budget airline V Air (威航), a franchise subsidiary of TransAsia Airways.
Meanwhile, the administration said that a person can be certified as a civil aviation pilot if he or she has accumulated more than 1,500 flying hours and passed the relevant tests.
According to the administration, the flight’s pilots Liao Chien-(廖建宗) and Liu Tse-chung (劉自忠) had accumulated 4,914 and 6,922 flying hours respectively.
Copilot Hong Bing-chung (洪炳衷) had accumulated 16,121 flying hours, the administration said, adding that he acted as an observer on the flight because he was upgrading skills acquired through operation of ATR 72-500 planes to operate the ATR72-600 aircraft.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday called for a complete suspension of TransAsia Airways’ flights, rather than just those of ATR 72-600 models.
KMT caucus deputy whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) and legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) told a news conference that the KMT caucus is calling on the CAA to halt all TransAsia Airways flights.
The two held a moment of silence for the victims before starting the conference.
Only six months and 10 days after the Flight GE222 crash in Penghu, another aircraft from the same airline company crashed, Lin said.
“This shows that there is a serious problem with [the airline company’s] management and the KMT caucus demands a comprehensive inspection and a complete suspension of its flights,” he said.
“Liao flew from Taipei to Kinmen and back, and Flight GE235 was his third flight on Wednesday. He informed ground crew of a problem [with the aircraft’s engine] before the flight, but was asked to have it examined later, which was a serious flaw,” Lin said.
Wu slammed TransAsia for what he said was the exploitation of its pilots, who, according to Wu, have “the least pay, the least year-end bonuses and the most pressure.”
Part of the pressure comes from the shortage of staff for rotation, Wu said, adding that “10 of its chief pilots were poached by [China’s] Sichuan Airline last year.”
He also accused the airline company of having Liao, “a pilot with not so much experience,” as the chief pilot, when “an examiner, who had more than 10,000 hours of flying experience, was sitting behind him.”
Wu said TransAsia is “finance-oriented, rather than flight safety-oriented” and should have been subject to an overhaul last year.
“The CAA has asked to halt TransAsia flights using ATR 72-type aircraft, but we do not think that is enough. Why is it that only TransAsia ATR 72 models are plagued with problems, but not Uni Air’s?”
He applauded Taipei and New Taipei City governments’ rescue efforts and efficiency, “but with this kind of major aircraft accident, it should be the central government taking control.”
As for the proposal that Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) be relocated, as proposed by KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智), Wu said that what should be examined, following and due to this accident, is flight safety, the airline company’s internal management, and the operation and maintenance of its fleet.
“The discussion of airport relocation is not the main issue right now,” he said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
RSS