Following a formal investigation that has continued for nearly two years, a final report by a special task force under the Civil Aviation Administration has concluded that pilot error -- as has long been expected -- was behind the crash of China Airlines flight 676 at CKS International Airport in Taoyuan in February, 1998, that killed all 196 people on board and six others on the ground.
The investigation into the crash has centered around orders from the control tower to the plane to abort its first landing attempt, and to "go around" for a second landing.
The investigation found that the pilot had released the plane's autopilot but was not aware of it, and the procedures taken for the second landing attempt were erroneous.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration will submit the bilingual report, which runs up to several hundred pages, to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. A formal announcement of its results will be made in about a month's time.
The reports says the plane's pilot failed to correct an error in the plane's altitude during the landing approach, despite warnings from the control tower that the aircraft was more than 1,000 meters above its normal altitude when it was only six nautical miles away from the airport.
The report also pointed out that before the plane hit the ground, it was locked in autopilot mode, but that when it started to dip, it was turned to manual control. The investigation group said these facts led them to conclude that as the Airbus A300 was preparing to land, the pilot mistakenly believed the aircraft was on autopilot.
When he received the order to "go around," he therefore did nothing to actively take control of the plane. For 11 seconds, the report says, the plane was under no one's control.
The report concludes by pointing the finger at China Airlines for what it calls "insufficient training" and "poor management of the resources in the pilot's cabin".
Flight 676 had been returning from the Indonesian resort of Bali, where, among other passengers, then-Central Bank governor Sheu Yuan-dong (
In the nearly two years since the crash, speculation has continued about the possible role of pilot error. As early as the day after the crash, airline industry analysts and other sources cast doubt on the possibility that it was caused by mechanical failure.
They cited the fact that there had been no obvious mechanical failure before impact, evident in the pattern of wreckage and the pilot's conversation with the flight control tower.
The plane plowed into a row of apartment buildings not too far from the runway, and then broke into several pieces. Experts have said that if the pilot had lost control, the aircraft would have crashed over a wider swath of land.
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) for making false allegations about donations to Ukraine and disclosing confidential documents, with the ministry saying that it would take legal action. The ministry last year signed an agreement with the Czech Republic on a healthcare project to assist Ukraine, which is to be carried out by the Czech Health Technology Institute. Hsu accused the ministry of being indirectly involved in the party politics of the Czech Republic as institute chairman Petr Foit is a local medical supplier, and has close political
‘DIGITAL SOLIDARITY’: Taiwan, the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are to install and operate a cable that would connect up to 100,000 people in the Pacific Islands Taiwan, the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are working together to install undersea cables as a demonstration of digital solidarity, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. Blinken talked about the cooperation in a speech he delivered at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. He said that the US International Cyberspace and Digital Strategy launched by the US Department of State “treats digital solidarity as our North Star.” “Solidarity informs our approach not only to digital technologies, but to all key foundational technologies,” Blinken said. Under the strategy, the US is to work with international partners “to shape the design, development,