The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) on Monday said that it is investigating China Airlines after one of its flights to Busan, South Korea, on Wednesday last week was reported to have narrowly avoided hitting a hill, the site of a 2002 Air China crash that killed more than 100 people.
Former pilot James Wang (王天傑) said in a live stream on Sunday night that CI186 to Gimhae International Airport failed to turn in time while circling on approach, exceeding the approach zone, passing over the Namhae Expressway and nearly hitting Mount Dotdae, the site of the April 15, 2002, Air China Flight 129 crash that killed 129 of its 166 passengers.
On June 12, CI186 landed on the wrong runway at the same airport, an incident that also gained attention after Wang discussed it on YouTube.
Photo: Screen grab from the Civil Aviation Administration’s Web site
China Airlines denied that last week’s flight almost hit the hill, saying that the flight crew executed a go-around in accordance with protocol after determining that the aircraft did not meet the criteria for a stabilized approach.
“A stabilized approach is a practice encouraged by the CAA to ensure flight safety. The aircraft on Wednesday last week landed safely at Gimhae International Airport on the second approach, which met the criteria for a stabilized approach,” the airline said in a statement.
“We continue to remind and train our flight crew based on the distinct qualities of each airport,” it said.
The CAA said it has asked the flight crew who are commissioned to carry out special assignments at the airline to undergo training after the June 12 incident, adding that they must strictly follow standardized procedures.
“We would investigate this alleged safety incident on Wednesday last week and order China Airlines to review it. The company must reinforce the safety of flight operation, including increasing the training in flight simulators,” it said.
After the June 12 incident, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it would investigate China Airlines, while the Transportation Safety Board said it would support it if requested.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
INTEL: China’s ships are mapping strategic ocean floors, including near Guam, which could aid undersea cable targeting and have military applications, a report said China’s oceanographic survey and research ships are collecting data in the Indo-Pacific region — possibly to aid submarine navigation, detect or map undersea cables, and lay naval mines — activities that could have military applications in a conflict with Taiwan or the US, a New York Times report said. The article, titled “China Surveys Seabeds Where Naval Rivals May One Day Clash,” was written by Chris Buckley and published on Thursday. Starboard Maritime Intelligence data revealed that Chinese research ships last year repeatedly scanned the ocean floor east of Taiwan’s maritime border, and about 400km east and west of Guam; “waters that