Wed, Mar 17, 2004
Carrier Fined By Government
The government will fine
China Airlines, as fresh evidence indicating that the carrier was
to blame for a crash off Penghu County in May 2002 has been found,
a spokesman for the Aviation Safety Council under the Executive
Yuan reported yesterday. The Civil Aeronautics Administration under
the Ministry of Transportation and Communications is planning to
issue a fine of NT$1.8 million (about US$54,000) to the carrier
over the crash, the spokesman said. The ASC official, however,
pointed out that while the new evidence might not necessarily be
the key cause of the crash of flight CI611, it will make the
investigation into the fatal accident more comprehensive. The
results of the ASC probe will be released late this year.
According to the ASC official, the new evidence was discovered
during a CAA investigation into CAL's maintenance and repair record
of the crashed Boeing 747-200 jet, which shows that the carrier had
failed to conduct a preventive anti-rust operation in a timely
manner every four years.
The ASC claims its
evidence clearly shows that CAL carried out the operation some 13
months past its due date. The official pointed out that the carrier
should have done the work in November 1997 but did not do so until
December the following year. CAA officials added that CAL has
already been punished three times since last year alone for failing
to carry out its maintenance and repair operations on schedule. It
was penalized twice last year with fines of NT$600,000 and
NT$900,000, respectively, and was issued a third fine of NT$3
million early this year.
In the face of the carrier's repeated failings, the CAA will
demand a detailed explanation of CAL's maintenance and repair work
on its airplanes, the CAA officials said.
The Boeing 747-200 passenger plane crashed into the sea off
Penghu County May 25, 2002, en route for Hong Kong, killing all 225
people on board. An initial investigation showed that metal fatigue
might be the main cause of the accident, as the aircraft broke into
pieces in flight.
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