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.
BRIBERY CASE: President Tsai Ing-wen accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation as he said that he deeply regretted causing trouble for the president due to the investigation Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨). “I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement. The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
The military last week sent “no small number” of Marine Corps officers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) following reports of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drill targeting the islands scheduled for this month. In an interview with Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Magazine published on Saturday last week, PLA National Defense University professor Li Daguang (李大光) confirmed that the Chinese army was planning to stage a simulated invasion of the Pratas Islands in the South China Sea this month. The islands comprise three atolls, with Pratas Island, at 1.74km2, being the largest. They lie southwest of Taiwan proper in the South
RSS