OCgringo Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Weird this would happen on arrival, taxing to the terminal http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6954397.stm A Taiwanese China Airlines plane burst into flames after landing on Japan's island of Okinawa but all 165 people on board are safe, officials say. All the passengers and crew had just been evacuated when the fire broke out on the Boeing 737-800 at Naha airport. TV pictures showed flames and smoke billowing from the plane as firefighters doused the fuselage. Some reports said the left engine had caught fire, although the airline said the cause was not yet known. "Everything was normal, including take-off and landing, until the pilots were told the airplane was on fire," China Airlines spokesman Johnson Sun said. "Then the crew on board immediately took the due procedure to evacuate all the passengers." Major setback The plane had been on a routine flight from the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, to the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, carrying 157 passengers and eight crew. Airport officials told Kyodo news agency that black smoke and fire could be seen billowing from the plane just eight minutes after it had landed. Once the fire had been extinguished, an hour later, the plane was found to have broken into two. Japanese TV initially reported that two crew members were rushed to hospital, but airline officials said all eight crew were safe. The BBC's Caroline Gluck in Taipei says the incident is a major setback for the Taiwanese flag carrier, which once had one of the worst safety records for international airlines. The airline suffered several crashes during the 1990s, and in 2002 one of its fleet crashed into the sea near the island of Penghu with 225 passengers and crew on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Okinawa is beside Hongkong and Macau the major hub for flights between Taiwan and Mainland China as there are still no direct flights. this is really a big setback for this airline. remember the 2002 crash of a 747 that was due to be sold to one of the no frill airlines (Orient Air?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 << All the passengers and crew had just been evacuated when the fire broke out on the Boeing 737-800 at Naha airport. >> Why were they evacuated BEFORE a fire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ongchaiyai Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Emergency evacuation, the mass movement of persons from a dangerous place due to a disaster. Maybe they had to wait for 1st Class to leave first - yeah right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 The pilot jumped out the cockpit window. All the passengers went down the slides. Everyone got out OK. Now we add on to the China defective products...airplanes blowing up and catching on fire! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Not really a surprise, probability of failure is far higher on Start up and Shut Down than at base load, I have "damaged" enough GT's in my life to realise the critical period. Now we add on to the China defective products...airplanes blowing up and catching on fire! Cavanami, I am surprised at this comment considering your knowledge of GT's, it was either a GE RB-211 Aero derivative or a P&W, both American products, but (bad) maintenance was probably a significant factor. Without being party to the facts I diagnose fuel line failure on depressurisation of the Fuel header, or maybe Old Hippie has be sabatoging the aircraft of a competative superpower nation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Taiwan??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Now we add on to the China defective products...airplanes blowing up and catching on fire! China Airlines is from Taiwan!! Air China is chinese! saw the fire on TV; pretty scary! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 At Current world levels I would rank the Isle of Man above USA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted August 20, 2007 Report Share Posted August 20, 2007 Not saying much for USA made airline Boeing "Once the fire had been extinguished, an hour later, the plane was found to have broken into two." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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