Investigators to use satellite images to locate China Airlines aircraft wreckage

Airline Industry Information, May 29, 2002

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

Investigators examining the China Airlines crash of 25 May are yet to pinpoint the cause of the accident, however they have ruled out weather conditions, severe turbulence and air traffic control mistakes.

The aircraft - a Boeing 747-200, carrying 206 passengers and 19 crew members from Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to Hong Kong - crashed into the Taiwan Strait after 20 minutes of flight. The pilots did not report any problems to air traffic controllers before the crash, which killed all 225 passengers and crew members.

According to radar images, the 22-year-old aircraft broke into four pieces before the crash, with one piece travelling against the flight path. This suggests that an explosion may have occurred aboard the aircraft.

A professor of aeronautics at National Chengkung University has claimed that metal fatigue - which develops as aircraft constantly expand and contract during takeoffs and landings - may have caused the aircraft to split apart in the air.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese investigators have requested satellite images from China and the US, which are expected to provide a better estimate of the location of the wreckage.

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