Sun, Nov 05, 2000 page1

• SIA will compensate victims' families

  SINGAPORE AIRLINES CRASH The airline has decided to pay US$400,000 to the families of each person killed and cover the medical costs of those injured. Meanwhile, observers wonder what should happen to the three pilots of the flight

  • By Liu Shao-hua / STAFF REPORTER
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  Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced yesterday afternoon that it would offer US$400,000 each in compensation to the families of 81 passengers and crew who died in the crash of flight SQ006 at CKS International Airport in Taoyuan last Tuesday. \nThe amount surpasses Taiwan's previous highest compensation payment of NT$9.9 million (equal to US$300,000 at the time), paid by China Airlines (華航) to the families of the 202 people killed in its fatal crash in 1998. \nSIA will defray a total of US$32.4 million in respect of the 81 killings. The airline will also meet the medical expenses of the rest of the 98 injured passengers and crew, and will discuss compensation with each of them. \n"This is a very sad situation and the airline hopes to help families through this terrible period by offering compensation without delay," said a statement released by the airline yesterday. "The families will receive a letter containing details of the offer within the next two weeks." \nThe airline made the decision before final conclusions of investigations into the cause of the crash have been made public and in the wake of director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA, 民航局) Chang You-hern's (張有恆) remarks yesterday morning that "the three pilots should take responsibility for the crash." \nThe airline did not make a public statement to respond to Chang, but has contacted him further, according to airline officials. \nThe Aviation Safety Council (ASC, 飛安委員會), which is leading the investigation into the crash, confirmed on Friday that the pilot had made the mistake of trying to take off on the wrong runway, causing the aircraft to slam into objects and burst into flames. \nSIA accepted the preliminary finding later the same day on the evidence presented by the ASC. Cheong Choong-kong (張松光), the airline's deputy chairman and chief executive officer said: "As unlikely as it seemed at first, the plane was on the wrong runway. We accept this finding. We need to understand what the contributing factors were." \n"It is critical that we understand exactly what happened and precisely what made the cockpit crew believe that they were on the correct runway," he said. \nBefore the ASC released its preliminary findings, the airline stated: "It was unlikely that an experienced captain could have taxied his aircraft on a darkened runway that was out of use." \nThe investigation is expected to be formally concluded within three months according to the ASC. But, signaling human error as a possible cause of the crash, the prosecutors' office in Taoyuan has barred the flight deck crew, captain Foong Chee Kong, along with co-pilots Ng Kheng Leng and Latiff Cyrano, from leaving Taiwan until the investigation is competed. \nIf the final conclusion of the investigation points to pilot error, "they must be charged with manslaughter on the basis of professional negligence with a maximum penalty of five years in jail, according to Taiwan's criminal law," lawyer Kenneth Chiu (邱晃泉) said. \n"But remission has commonly been granted in Taiwan since the five-year penalty is not heavy and they didn't do it on purpose," Chiu said. "The probable worst punishment the Singaporean authorities will impose would be to cancel their commercial pilot's licenses for good," Chiu said. \nProsecutor Song Kuo-yeh (宋國業) at the Taoyuan County district prosecutors' office said yesterday that "whether there are other people responsible for the crash will be investigated." \nAccording to the ASC, a key further element in the investigation would be to confirm whether the side lights of runway 05R were on. \nThe closed runway, number 05R, runs parallel to the one the plane should have used, 05L.

  

  Relatives of victims of Singapore Airlines flight SQ006 view the wreckage for a second day on the runway of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan yesterday.

  PHOTO: AP

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