Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning.
The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am.
“After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am.
Photo courtesy of Starlux Airlines
The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and dispatched another plane to take them to Penang, which departed at 1:30pm, it said.
Separately, Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) said that it would seek compensation from the owner of Cypress-registered container ship Hyundai Tokyo after the ship allegedly caused major damage to a pier when docking at the Port of Kaohsiung on Monday morning.
The 74,651-tonne container ship allegedly hit No. 77 pier at the port after failing to enter the dock at the correct angle. No casualties were reported.
The Maritime and Port Bureau and Taiwan Transportation Safety Board are to conduct separate investigations into the incident.
A preliminary investigation conducted by the bureau found that the pilot who guided the ship to the port had an alcohol-induced reaction.
The maritime pilot’s alcohol density was measured at 0.69 in a test administered by personnel on the container ship, the bureau said.
After disembarking the ship, the pilot passed a walk test and tested only 0.19 in an alcohol test jointly administered by the bureau and police, it said.
The Kaohsiung Maritime Pilots’ Office said the pilot drank the night before reporting for work and he thought the effects of the alcohol had receded.
Ship owners should request a change of maritime pilot if they have drunk alcohol, smell of alcohol or show signs of fatigue, it said.
Although the Criminal Code stipulates penalties for drunk driving on the road and at sea, the penalties do not apply to maritime pilots, as they guide ships and do not steer them.
TIPC’s Kaohsiung office is calculating the cost of the damage and would seek compensation from the ship’s owner.
The maritime pilot would be subject to punishment according to the Pilotage Act (引水法) if drinking alcohol was found to be directly or indirectly related to the accident.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all