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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS