Link to BBC Report
US sending team to Okinawa
for investigation
The United States is sending a team of experts to assist the
investigation into the cause of the fire that gutted a China
Airlines plane at Okinawa's Naha airport on Monday.
The US National Transportation Safety Board says it will send an
aircraft accident investigator and an engine specialist.
They will be accompanied by technical representatives from Boeing,
the manufacturer of the plane, and General Electric, which produced
the engine.
The board says the Japanese side requested the dispatch of the
experts, and that they will be assisting the Japanese government in
its investigation of the accident.
Boeing says the team is scheduled to arrive in Okinawa on
Wednesday.
No problems found in
inspections
Japanese airlines found no problems in inspections of 23 domestic
passenger planes that have the same engine as the China Airlines
Boeing 737 that caught fire on Monday.
Under the transport ministry's inspection orders, Japan Airlines
inspected 5 planes, Skymark Airlines, 5, and Air Nippon, 13.
All airlines were operating as scheduled on Tuesday.
China Airlines president
apologizes to passengers
China Airlines President Chao Kuo-shui has directly apologized to
some of the passengers of its jetliner that burst into flames at an
airport in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture in southwestern Japan, on
Monday.
Mr Chao, who flew from Taiwan to Okinawa the previous night, met on
Tuesday with more than 80 tourists from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Mr Chao apologized for the accident on behalf of his company, and
offered 100 US dollars each as partial compensation for belongings
burnt in the plane fire.
One of the passengers said although she appreciated the sincerity
of the airline company, she's not satisfied because all of her
belongings were lost.
China Airlines says it will negotiate with passengers over how to
compensate for their lost baggage.
China Airlines probe focuses
on fuel tank
Japanese transport officials are focusing their investigation into
Monday's Taiwanese plane accident in Okinawa on possible problems
involving the aircraft's fuel tank.
The China Airlines Boeing 737 burst into flames shortly after
landing at Naha airport.
The fire led to explosions that occurred just after all 165
passengers and crew escaped safely.
Investigations are continuing at the site on Tuesday by police and
officials from the transport ministry's Aircraft and Railway
Accidents Investigation Commission.
The fire is thought to have started around the right wing
engine.
Investigators have obtained an account of the incident from a
ground flight mechanic who said he saw a large amount of fuel
leaking from the plane.
Investigators say the leak may have started from the fuel tank or
the large pipes installed in the wing, rather than from inside the
engine where the pipes are comparatively narrow.
They are analyzing the right wing to see whether there were any
cracks or other abnormalities on the fuel tank or the pipes.
More News Reports...
Washington Post
Time
Charleston Gazette
