Jet crash cause still undetermined
Source: Xinhua |
August 27, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWO days after the deadliest commercial plane crash in China in nearly six years killed 42 people in a remote northeastern city, no progress was reported in the government investigation as doubts and speculation continued to swirl.
Officials and an airline executive addressed a brief press conference in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, yesterday, but did not say what caused the accident nor whether their data analysis of the two black boxes found on Wednesday had achieved any results.
"The black boxes have been sent to Beijing and our specialists are still working on the data," said Lu Xue'er, an official in charge of aviation safety at the General Administration of Civil Aviation.
A representative from Henan Airlines offered an apology and condolences to the victims and their families.
"We're grieved over the tragedy," said Liu Hang, chairman of the airlines' supervisory board. "Our condolences for the dead and apologies to all the victims, their families and the whole society."
He said his company had opened 24-hour hotlines at its headquarters in Zhengzhou, in Henan Province, and Heilongjiang's Harbin and Yichun cities to help victims' family members arrange their trips.
Yesterday's press conference was the first in more than 40 hours after a Brazil-made E-190 turbine jet run by Henan Airlines crashed at Lindu Airport of Yichun.
Two local government officials also attended the press conference, which lasted for about 10 minutes and left no time for questions.
Before the press conference, everyone stood in silence tribute to mourn the dead.
Tuesday night's disaster ended a record 2,102 days of safe air travel in China - 69 months without an accident.
Of the 96 people on board, 54 survived with injuries. Most were hospitalized in Yichun, and 15 serious cases were airlifted to Harbin on Wednesday night.
Initial probes and survivors' accounts indicated the plane missed the runway and crashed on the ground, breaking the cabin into two and triggering a mild explosion.
No signs of sabotage have been found so far, investigators said.
Several ground service staff workers at Lindu Airport said, on condition of anonymity, that it was foggy with low visibility when the plane crashed on Tuesday night, but the local weather bureau suggested otherwise.
The meteorological bureau of Yichun City found no signs of heavy fog that day.
"The city proper was not foggy at all between 9pm and 10pm," said Han Guangtian, the bureau chief.
"Fog was possible at the airport, though, because it is located in a mountain valley surrounded by lush forests."
The forest area, he said, tends to be colder and more humid than the downtown areas, but still, "heavy fog was unlikely."
The plane crashed at around 9:36pm, shortly after its captain told ground control he was "ready for normal landing," a top official in Yichun said on Wednesday, quoting airport authorities.
Survivor Xue Xilai remembered that the accident happened shortly after the crew announced they were about to land.
"They didn't say it was foggy on the ground," Xue said. "Nor did the crew say there was any danger."
The airport was shrouded in thick fog throughout the rescue operation on Tuesday night. Until 5am Wednesday, visibility was no more than 300 meters.
The captain, 40-year-old Qi Quanjun, did not say anything about the accident except that he "couldn't remember anything," when interviewed by Xinhua at Yichun's No. 1 Hospital on Wednesday morning.
Hospital President Qi Xingzhong said the captain suffered facial injuries that could not have affected his memory or speech.
A source close to the pilot said he used to work for Shenzhen Airlines, the parent company of Henan Airlines, and resigned after he was demoted from captain to copilot. The man declined to be named.
"Frankly speaking, his landing skills were so-so," said the source, who works at Mohe, another regional airport on China's northern border.
"He became a captain again at Henan Airlines."
Henan Airlines was previously known as Kunpeng Airlines. It flies smaller regional jets, mainly on routes in north and northeast China.
Airport defended
Li Jian, vice director of the aviation administration, defended Lindu Airport's safety standards on Wednesday, in response to speculation that inadequate facilities for night flights could have led to the disaster. "It is no comparison to big airports, but the safety standards are guaranteed," said Li.
He said the airport is built with the capacity to accommodate flights during the night.
But the airport has no fuel supplies and industry insiders say a plane has to be filled with enough fuel to cover the return trip, a possible reason for flames to spread fast.
Henan Airlines has only five jets, all E-190.
"Because of their small fleet, smaller airline companies tend to draw passengers with lower ticket prices. To make their ends meet, many buy regional planes - which are often more risky and not as comfortable as jumbo jets - and fly frequently at night," a source from civil aviation industry in Harbin said.
The crashed jet might have flown some 6,000 kilometers in 11 hours, taking off from Harbin at 8am and commuting to five regional airports in Mohe, Jiamusi, Jixi, Mudanjiang and Yichun, according to its schedule.
Had it landed safely in Yichun on Tuesday night, it should have flown back to Harbin by 11pm.
Officials and an airline executive addressed a brief press conference in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, yesterday, but did not say what caused the accident nor whether their data analysis of the two black boxes found on Wednesday had achieved any results.
"The black boxes have been sent to Beijing and our specialists are still working on the data," said Lu Xue'er, an official in charge of aviation safety at the General Administration of Civil Aviation.
A representative from Henan Airlines offered an apology and condolences to the victims and their families.
"We're grieved over the tragedy," said Liu Hang, chairman of the airlines' supervisory board. "Our condolences for the dead and apologies to all the victims, their families and the whole society."
He said his company had opened 24-hour hotlines at its headquarters in Zhengzhou, in Henan Province, and Heilongjiang's Harbin and Yichun cities to help victims' family members arrange their trips.
Yesterday's press conference was the first in more than 40 hours after a Brazil-made E-190 turbine jet run by Henan Airlines crashed at Lindu Airport of Yichun.
Two local government officials also attended the press conference, which lasted for about 10 minutes and left no time for questions.
Before the press conference, everyone stood in silence tribute to mourn the dead.
Tuesday night's disaster ended a record 2,102 days of safe air travel in China - 69 months without an accident.
Of the 96 people on board, 54 survived with injuries. Most were hospitalized in Yichun, and 15 serious cases were airlifted to Harbin on Wednesday night.
Initial probes and survivors' accounts indicated the plane missed the runway and crashed on the ground, breaking the cabin into two and triggering a mild explosion.
No signs of sabotage have been found so far, investigators said.
Several ground service staff workers at Lindu Airport said, on condition of anonymity, that it was foggy with low visibility when the plane crashed on Tuesday night, but the local weather bureau suggested otherwise.
The meteorological bureau of Yichun City found no signs of heavy fog that day.
"The city proper was not foggy at all between 9pm and 10pm," said Han Guangtian, the bureau chief.
"Fog was possible at the airport, though, because it is located in a mountain valley surrounded by lush forests."
The forest area, he said, tends to be colder and more humid than the downtown areas, but still, "heavy fog was unlikely."
The plane crashed at around 9:36pm, shortly after its captain told ground control he was "ready for normal landing," a top official in Yichun said on Wednesday, quoting airport authorities.
Survivor Xue Xilai remembered that the accident happened shortly after the crew announced they were about to land.
"They didn't say it was foggy on the ground," Xue said. "Nor did the crew say there was any danger."
The airport was shrouded in thick fog throughout the rescue operation on Tuesday night. Until 5am Wednesday, visibility was no more than 300 meters.
The captain, 40-year-old Qi Quanjun, did not say anything about the accident except that he "couldn't remember anything," when interviewed by Xinhua at Yichun's No. 1 Hospital on Wednesday morning.
Hospital President Qi Xingzhong said the captain suffered facial injuries that could not have affected his memory or speech.
A source close to the pilot said he used to work for Shenzhen Airlines, the parent company of Henan Airlines, and resigned after he was demoted from captain to copilot. The man declined to be named.
"Frankly speaking, his landing skills were so-so," said the source, who works at Mohe, another regional airport on China's northern border.
"He became a captain again at Henan Airlines."
Henan Airlines was previously known as Kunpeng Airlines. It flies smaller regional jets, mainly on routes in north and northeast China.
Airport defended
Li Jian, vice director of the aviation administration, defended Lindu Airport's safety standards on Wednesday, in response to speculation that inadequate facilities for night flights could have led to the disaster. "It is no comparison to big airports, but the safety standards are guaranteed," said Li.
He said the airport is built with the capacity to accommodate flights during the night.
But the airport has no fuel supplies and industry insiders say a plane has to be filled with enough fuel to cover the return trip, a possible reason for flames to spread fast.
Henan Airlines has only five jets, all E-190.
"Because of their small fleet, smaller airline companies tend to draw passengers with lower ticket prices. To make their ends meet, many buy regional planes - which are often more risky and not as comfortable as jumbo jets - and fly frequently at night," a source from civil aviation industry in Harbin said.
The crashed jet might have flown some 6,000 kilometers in 11 hours, taking off from Harbin at 8am and commuting to five regional airports in Mohe, Jiamusi, Jixi, Mudanjiang and Yichun, according to its schedule.
Had it landed safely in Yichun on Tuesday night, it should have flown back to Harbin by 11pm.
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