Three pilots detained in Taiwan since their Singapore Airlines plane crashed last month should be allowed to return to Singapore, the chief investigator of the crash said yesterday.
Taiwanese prosecutors have insisted that the pilots stay in Taiwan after their plane, flight SQ006, crashed in flames on Oct. 31 while trying to take off from the wrong runway during a storm. Eighty-three of the 179 people on board were killed.
"It would probably be better to have the pilots in Singapore, at home with their families in familiar surroundings," said Yong Kay
"What we are interested in is finding the reason why they went to the wrong runway," Yong said. "In a more relaxed environment, they [the pilots] would certainly have much fresher memories."
The pilots are currently free to move around in Taiwan, but have been ordered to remain there to help authorities with investigations.
Senior Taiwanese prosecutor Song Kuo-yeh
The pilots are flight commander Captain Foong Chee Kong, 41, a Malaysian, and Singaporean co-pilots Latif Cyrano, 36, and Ng Kheng Leng, 38.
Flight SQ006, a Boeing 747-400, broke into three pieces after it hit construction equipment on a runway that was not in use.
Current investigations are largely focused on whether the runway may have been lit in a way that made it appear open for use.
Yong was in Singapore with a team of Taiwanese investigators who were visiting the city-state's international airport and the offices of Singapore Airlines.
The team is "interviewing the crew's colleagues, as well as trying to understand the training methods of Singapore Airlines," Yong said.
Yong departed for Taiwan early yesterday, while the rest of the investigators remained in Singapore.
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