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Investigation into crash to begin

Members of the Coast Guard carry debris from crashed China Airlines flight CI611 for study on Penghu yesterday. PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES

The Control Yuan yesterday formed a task force to conduct a probe into the demise of China Airlines flight CI611 that crashed on Saturday and is thought to have killed all 225 people aboard.

The four-member task force is led by Hsieh Ching-hui (謝慶輝), a member of the Control Yuan, with his colleagues Lee Shen-yi (李伸一), Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平) and Chao Ron-yaw (趙榮耀).

Hsieh told reporters yesterday that the team would investigate how a routine fuselage examination of the Boeing 747-200 was conducted by CAL on May 3, and whether the plane was too old to serve as a passenger jet.

The team will also conduct a comprehensive overhaul of CAL's pilot training program, the company's management of related personnel and the responsibility of related government agencies for the supervision of civil aviation.

Hsieh added that the four investigators would go to Penghu, near where the plane crashed into the sea, for a better understanding of search-and-rescue efforts. They will also listen to the opinions of the victims' relatives.

Questions to be raised * Was the 20-year-old Boeing 747-200 too old for use as a passenger jet? * Were China Airlines' pre-flight safety checks of the plane and its passengers carried out in accordance with all relevant regulations? * Did all relevant government agencies fulfill their responsibilities before the disaster or did their malfeasance create circumstances under which the crash was more likely to happen?

Although the cause of the accident remains unknown, Hsieh said that they would look into all aspects of flight safety to ensure that similar accidents do not happen again.

Hsieh said in this regard that that the team would look into whether China Airlines conducted the necessary pre-flight examinations of the plane's engines, its avionics and its interior to ensure passenger safety.

As to the matter of the aircraft's age, Hsieh said that the plane had operated for over 22 years and that China Airlines intended to sell the plane to a domestic airline firm in Thailand for US$1.45 million, which is considered a relatively low price.

"Is such an old plane appropriate for use as a passenger jet? The age of the plane and its low sales price seem to imply that the plane was in bad condition," Hsieh wondered aloud.

According to China Airlines, the plane's Saturday flight was its last voyage for CAL.

In addition, the team will also look into the company's training procedures and its management of staff, in order to see if human error was involved in the accident.

As all these elements are under the juristiction of the Civil Aviation Bureau and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Hsieh pledged to examine the roles of these agencies in the disaster.

After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the US last year, the Control Yuan formed a special investigation team to look into the training of domestic pilots and the procedures for pre-flight security checks. The investigation is still underway.
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