Singapore Airlines crash probe focuses on runway lights

Ang Chiok Joo, father of a Singapore Airlines flight attendant who died in the crash, grieves during a wake in Tamoines, Singapore

November 7, 2000
Web posted at: 10:02 a.m. HKT (0202 GMT)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- One of the main issues in the Singapore Airlines crash investigation is whether the airport switched on the lights on the closed runway the pilot mistakenly used, the chief Taiwanese investigator said Monday.

If both sides of the runway -- which was filled with construction equipment -- were illuminated, the pilot could have mistaken it for a clear airstrip, said Kay Yong, managing director of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council.

"If the lights of the runway were not on, then the runway would not look like a runway," Yong told reporters after a briefing with legislators.

RESOURCES Path of plane on runway     ALSO Cockpit transcript from doomed jet     GALLERY Images from the crash of Singapore Airlines Flight 006     RESOURCES Recent plane crashes     MESSAGE BOARD Air safety

Los Angeles-bound Flight SQ006, with 179 people aboard, tried to take off last Tuesday during heavy rain and high winds brought by an approaching typhoon. The Boeing 747-400 rammed into the construction equipment, burst into flames and broke into three pieces, killing 82 people.

Investigators have said that visibility was poor late Tuesday night when the plane crashed, and air traffic control -- which didn't have ground radar -- had no way of knowing the pilot was on the wrong runway, which was parallel to the one he was supposed to use.

Although the pilot told air traffic control that he thought he was on the correct runway, pilot error could not immediately be confirmed as the cause of the crash, Yong said.

Investigators were still interviewing the three cockpit crew members, cabin crew and other survivors and the probe could take one to two years to complete.

Officials involved in the probe have declined to speculate how the pilot could have made such an error or whether the closed runway should have been better marked.

Scattered debris from the Singapore Airlines plane lies near construction equipment on the runway of Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei

Chang Yu-hern, director general of Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration, said the strip was not blocked off because it was used by taxiing aircraft.

Closing down the entire runway would have created serious delays for planes lining up for departure, said Chang, who was also at the briefing with legislators.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines said that relatives of the crash victims were to receive their formal compensation offers of U.S. dlrs 400,000 within two weeks, more than five times the amount required under international law.

Some Taiwanese relatives, however, have demanded U.S. dlrs 600,000 from the airline since the preliminary findings of the investigation were released.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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