UPDATE: Singapore Airlines 747 crashes in Taipei

Airline Industry Information, Nov 1, 2000

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2000 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

(Adds details of accident and resulting fatalities and injuries.)

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Taiwan's Chiang Kai Shek Airport in Taipei on 31 October.

The Boeing 747-400 en route to Los Angeles was carrying 159 passengers and 20 crew and crashed at 2318 local time (1518 GMT). Early reports suggested that the aircraft collided with a stationary Air China aircraft on the runway and then burst into flames, however Taiwan's Vice Interior Minister denied that this was the case.

In an official report SIA stated that the flight commander had reported hitting an object, and the aircraft's flight data recorder will be examined to determine whether an object was struck. Earlier today (1 November) investigators reportedly found a wheel belonging to another aircraft on the runway.

A typhoon was expected to hit Taiwan this morning and the conditions at the time of the crash were windy with heavy rain. However airline officials have said that the weather conditions were unlikely to have been the cause of the crash.

The aircraft broke into three pieces as it lunged back onto the runway, causing several large explosions. The fire was apparently brought under control shortly after the crash but the airport remained closed for seven hours following the accident.

According to recent reports, 78 people have died in the crash, 16 escaped injury and 85 were taken to hospital. Of the 159 passengers on board 11 were from Singapore, 55 from Taiwan, 47 from the USA, 11 from India, 8 from Malaysia, 5 from Indonesia, 4 from Mexico, 4 from the UK, two from Thailand, two from New Zealand, two from Vietnam and one each from Australia, Cambodia, Canada, Canary Islands, Germany, Japan, Ireland and the Philippines. Of the air crew, the captain is a Malaysian, while the two first officers are Singaporean. The three technical crew are known to have survived the accident, while eight cabin crew were unhurt and at least one was injured.

The crash is the first serious accident for SIA, although a Boeing 737 aircraft operated by its subsidiary SilkAir crashed in Indonesia in 1997 killing 104 people.

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