China Airlines ordered to ground Boeing 747-200 aircraft following crash

Airline Industry Information, May 27, 2002

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Following the crash of a China Airlines aircraft on Saturday (25 May), Taiwan has grounded the airline's four remaining Boeing 747-200 aircraft.

The four aircraft will undergo a special inspection after a fifth Boeing 747-200 aircraft belonging to the airline crashed into the Taiwan Strait during a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong. The aircraft was carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew members.

The crashed aircraft was reportedly 22 years old and had recorded almost 65,000 flying hours. A charter company in Thailand, Orient Thai, had purchased the aircraft, which was scheduled to be delivered on 30 June 2002.

The airline has also announced that it would immediately pay about USD3,000 in solace payments to the bereaved families for each fatality. The same amount will be paid out by the government.

In related news, three legislators of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are urging Taiwan's airline, China Airlines, to change its name following the crash.

The three DPP lawmakers have said that they will present a proposal asking the airline's largest stake holder - China Airlines Development Foundation - to demand that the airline change its name in a bid to rid itself of bad luck and improve its image in the global civil aviation market.

The lawmakers have suggested the name "Formosa", which means "beautiful" in Portuguese.

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