Passengers flying with Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) were warned to expect delays after one of the carrier’s jets was grounded on Saturday because of damage to the exterior, the company said yesterday.
The carrier said it found an 18cm scratch near a passenger door when the MD-82 jet was towed to the hangar at the Taipei International Airport (Songshan) after completing a flight from Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, China.
Since the damage could affect the aircraft’s ability to maintain cabin pressure while in the air, the decision was taken to ground the jet, the carrier said.
With one of FAT’s seven MD-82 and MD-83 jets already undergoing routine maintenance, the carrier said the newly grounded aircraft poses challenges for the company’s punctual operation, and that passengers are likely to face delays.
The company said it suspected the scratch was caused by the mishandling of the airbridge between the jet and the terminal building, based on findings from a reconstruction of the scene done early yesterday.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration and the Aviation Safety Council have been informed about the incident, the carrier said.
It added that further investigations will have to be performed to determine the actual cause of the damage.
Apart from its domestic flights and an international route serving Cebu in the Philippines, FAT operates mainly to several destinations in China.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS