Taiwan forms flight safety commission to curb air crashes

Citation

(1999), "Taiwan forms flight safety commission to curb air crashes", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308bab.003

Taiwan forms flight safety commission to curb air crashes

Taiwan forms flight safety commission to curb air crashes

Taiwan, moving to restore its battered reputation, has formally launched a flight safety commission to investigate aviation accidents.

"The commission's main agenda is neither to examine administrative and penal responsibilities nor to determine compensation" said Weng Cheng-yi, the commission's chairman.

Mr Weng, who is also president of National Cheng Kung University, said the commission will spend three months assessing the state of investigations into three air disasters earlier this year that killed 218 people.

The panel plans to forge cooperative ties with accident investigators in the USA, Canada and Australia, he said. Three commissioners have been named to the panel: Ho Shou-chun, president of Yuen Foong Yu group; Yeh Chunjung, a National Taiwan University law professor; and Wang Shih-sheng, former president of Aerospace Industry Development Corp. A fourth member will be named later. Jung Kai, director of National Cheng Kung University's aerospace technology research center, will serve as the commission's chief executive.

The commission, launched formally this week, will report to the Executive Yuan, Taiwan's Cabinet.

Procedural

Oung Cheng-yi, who helped organize the commission, said the panel probably would spend at least three months learning procedural techniques before beginning to draft a set of principles to guide investigations into accidents. While Taiwan has better civil aviation facilities and more qualified maintenance and technical personnel than most developing countries, he said Taiwan's airlines have comparatively higher accident rates. Mr Oung attributed the bad record to a "lack of serious-mindedness in the national work ethic." As reported, the island's Civil Aviation Administration launched a safety review 1 May, 1998 covering all aspects of flying. The initial stage is expected to take between three and six months, followed by three years of further measures. The checks will cover every system related to commercial flight services, including aircraft maintenance, schedules, internal supervision and flight safety control, as well as the CAA's own flight control and assistance systems. Facilities at all local airports, from runways and logistic support systems and security inspection, also will be scrutinized, a spokesman said.

Task force

In addition to the review commission, the CAA will establish a safety reinforcement task force. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications will also create a flight safety strategic task force.

In the longer term, the administration plans to use foreign experts to assist carriers in improving safety management systems and devising comprehensive safety checks and rewards and punishments. Among recent accidents were the 16 February 1998 crash of a China Airlines Airbus A-300 killing 202 people, the island's worst air disaster. The government controls 71.5 per cent of CAL.

Serious

CAL has been involved in 11 serious accidents over the past 30 years, causing the deaths of more than 411 Taiwanese and foreign passengers and crew. After the April crash, the transportation and communications ministry ordered CAL to fire 71 executives, including honorary chairman Wu Yueh.

In March, a Formosa Airlines Saab 340 crash killed 13. Formosa has the worst safety record of any Taiwanese airline. The March accident, Formosa's seventh in ten years, was attributed to human error.

Taiwan has 14 carriers in operation, which has led to price wars and huge losses among smaller airlines. The government is pressing for mergers to reduce the numbers and improve performance.

(Lloyd's Casualty Week, Vol. 312 No. 10, 5 June 1998)