China Airlines Passenger Jet Crashes

China Airlines flight CI611 departed from Taoyuan's Chiang Kai-shek Airport at 3:08 p.m. on May 25. At 3:28 p.m. the plane disappeared while flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet at a location of ten nautical miles northwest of the Penghu island of Makung. Aboard the aircraft were 225 persons, including 189 passengers from Taiwan, 14 passengers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao, two passengers from Singapore and one from Europe, and 19 crew members; three of the passengers were infants.

When the Civil Aeronautics Administration received news of the aircraft's disappearance at 3:50 p.m., they immediately set up an emergency command center, and also contacted the Executive Yuan's Disaster Response Center and military search and rescue teams. Minister of Transportation Lin Lin-san immediately headed to the Emergency Center to personally conduct the rescue operation.

There are over 1000 rescue workers, including military search and rescue teams and rescue workers aboard private fishing vessels. Due to the fact that a large amount of wreckage was discovered in Changhua County's Hsiushui, Yienpu, and Fuhsing townships, large numbers of the local police force and citizens began a search there, as well. It is estimated that the number of search and rescue teams mobilized in response to the accident represents the largest-scale effort of its kind in the history of Taiwan aviation.

The search and rescue operations are being conducted around the clock with the base of operations at the site nearest to the crash, Penghu's Chihkan Pier. The military search teams have employed flares to facilitate searching at night. However, unfavorable sea conditions near Penghu have engendered the possibility that bodies may have floated west. Accordingly, the Mainland Affairs Council has contacted mainland authorities and obtained permission to allow search and rescue teams to continue operations into PRC waters. Fishing industry radio frequencies have also broadcast an appeal to increase the vigilance of fisherman in the Taiwan Strait and to solicit their assistance in locating aircraft wreckage and bodies. According to experts, there is little chance that anyone survived the disaster.

President Chen Shui-bian has demonstrated great concern, and has instructed rescue units to leave no stone unturned. Premier Yu Shyi-kun arrived in Penghu to get a first-hand understanding of the rescue conditions. The premier listened sympathetically to the needs of the victims' families, expressing on behalf of the government the nation's deepest regret. He also indicated that search and rescue operations would continue beyond the critical first 72 hours.

The Executive Yuan's Aviation Safety Council has indicated that the lost craft did not issue any distress calls prior to the accident. Radar showed the plane breaking into four pieces at an altitude of over 30,000 feet, with one of the pieces propelled in the opposite direction of the flight trajectory.

The cause of the crash is still uncertain, though there are several explanations. The plane's old age, a possible terrorist bomb, engine failure, and being struck by a military projectile are all possibilities. That this kind of sudden disintegration has never been seen before, coupled with the fact that the bodies of the deceased show no burn marks, has led people to suspect that the plane's fragmentation was brought about by external forces. There is concern that projectiles fired in Taiwan or PRC military exercises waters may have caused the plane's demise (both sides were running military exercises on May 25). However, Taiwan military sources have stated that there were no missile firings on May 25, while the PRC has yet to comment.

The Aviation Safety Council is presently unwilling to venture any guess at the cause of the crash, stating that a final determination depends on the recovery of the aircraft's black box.

Life is full of unforeseeable tragedies. However, China Airlines' high crash rate, the fourth highest in the world, is causing tremendous alarm. As the government calls for improvement of aviation safety, in the meantime our hearts must go out to the victims of China Airlines CI611, and hope that the establishment of practical aviation safety mechanisms may prevent future tragedies.

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Since China Airlines flight CI611 crashed in mysterious circumstances, military search and rescue teams and civilian fishing boats have been searching the waters off Penghu. The photo shows a bird's-eye view of the maritime search. (photo by Su Yu-kai, China Times)