The Taiwan Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has ordered China Airlines (CAL) to cut frequencies and retrain its pilots in the wake of the carrier's latest crash. Its Boeing MD-11 accident at Hong Kong on 22 August brought the total of CAL's widebody hull losses since 1993 to four (Flight International, 1-7 September).
The CAA earlier rejected a safety improvement plan presented by the airline, giving CAL until 9 September to come up with a more detailed one. Within days of the crash it banned the airline from launching new services for a year.
Now the carrier is to cut frequencies on four routes for at least a month, cancelling 68 flights in September, and will put its 700 pilots through retraining. The frequency reductions are intended to allow CAL "to check and better maintain aircraft, and to review and retrain pilots".
The death toll in the accident has since risen to three, and the carrier's board of directors has demanded "a solid index and action plan to implement the corporate commitment of 'safety first and customer first'."
Source: Flight International
