Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) says it will release a preliminary report into the cause of the 16 February China Airlines (CAL) Airbus Industrie A300-600R crash within ten days.
Deputy director Lee Wan Lee of the CAA's flight standards department says the aircraft's flight data recorder (FDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) are now being decoded at the Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation, and preliminary data has already been returned.
Lee stresses that the data in its existing form still offers no clear explanation why the aircraft crashed near Taipei's Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, killing 202, although more work needs to be done on the devices.
The A300-600R was operating as a scheduled service from Bali when it crashed while on final approach to runway 05L, killing all 196 on board and six on the ground. Lee says the aircraft was on a standard instrument landing system approach at the correct heading of 053í, but it deviated in its final moments by more than 30í. The aircraft touched down tail-first and west of the runway, suggesting that the crew was attempting a go-around.
Source: Flight Daily News
