Brent Hannon/TAIPEI
China Airlines (CAL) says the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Boeing have eliminated pilot error as a cause of the Boeing MD-11 accident at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport last August.
The MD-11, operating a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, with 315 people on board, crashed during a tropical storm while landing on 22 August, killing three passengers and seriously injuring 15.
The MD-11 banked 15í to the right on short finals, the right wing struck the runway, and the tri-jet came to rest by the side of the runway upside down and on fire.
According to CAL president Sandy Liu, the NTSB investigators have cleared the pilots of all error "and the investigation is focusing on the weather and on the airport". He says Boeing, the NTSB and CAL ran the accident sequence in a simulator many times before absolving the pilot of error.
CAL vice-president of operations Alfred Kupfershmied says a strong downdraft was responsible for the accident. "In the final few seconds, the last 500ft [150m], the pilot could do nothing," he says. "The aircraft was pushed down on to the runway - it was very unlucky."
Kupfershmied says Chek Lap Kok is notorious among pilots for difficult flying conditions. The airport is adjacent to 1,000m mountain peaks on nearby Lantau Island. Formerly of Lufthansa Technik, Kupfershmied was appointed by CAL last month. He accumulated most of his 12,000 flying hours with Swissair on McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and MD-11s.
The August accident was CAL's fourth hull loss in the past seven years. Kupfershmied is tasked with improving CAL's poor safety record.
Source: Flight International
