Reports that the pilot of Singapore Airlines flight SQ006 took off the wrong runway are expected to add to the economic fallout for the squeeky-clean airline.
"The plane did take off from the wrong runway," Rick Clements, vice-president for public affairs for SIA, told a press conference. The crash at Taipei's main airport on Tuesday night killed at least 81 and injured dozens more among the 179 passengers and crew on board.
SIA's statement prompted a crisis of confidence in the company's shares, which plunged 5.7 percent on the local bourse.
The Singapore government said it took the preliminary findings seriously and pledged "all possible action" to prevent a recurrence of the accident.
While the costs of the crash have yet to be tallied, Asia's ninth largest by passengers carried and second largest by cargo carried, will likely have to pay higher insurance premiums in the future.
"SIA will have a lot of expenses from this for a while," said Jim Eckes, managing director of Indoswiss Aviation, an aviation consultant. "If they're smart they'll sit down and settle with as many as possible as soon as possible." Under the Warsaw convention, airlines are liable for a maximum of US$75,000 a victim in a plane accident, analysts said.
With the current death toll, SIA's maximum liability under the international legal guideline would be US$6.08 million. Further, a new 747-400 jet costs at least US$174.5 million at list price.
On top of these figures, SIA has already given out US$5,000 for each victim of this crash for immediate expenses, part of US$25,000 it pledged hours after the crash to help next of kin.
SIA will also bear the costs of crisis management due to the accident.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS