Weather, pilot error blamed for Taiwan crash

The plane was attempting to take off in heavy rain caused by an approaching typhoon

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- An official report by Taiwan investigators has blamed pilot error and bad weather as the chief probable cause for the October 2000 crash of a Singapore Airlines 747 at Taipei airport.

Eighty-three of the 179 passengers on board were killed when the plane crashed as it attempted to take off at night in heavy rain caused by an approaching typhoon.

The Los Angeles-bound aircraft, flight SQ006, broke up and exploded in a fireball after hitting construction equipment parked on a runway closed for repairs.

The plane was supposed to be on an adjacent runway.

In its report, Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said the aircraft's crew did not make full use of information such as the airport navigation chart, aircraft heading references, runway and taxiway signs and markings.

MORE STORIES • Mixed reaction to report from crash families    RESOURCES Major Asian air disasters     CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

The investigators went on to note that although the lighting and signage at Taipei's Chiang Kai-shek airport did not meet international standards, that was not deemed a significant contributory factor in causing the crash.

"The absence of these enhancements was not deemed sufficient to have caused the loss of situational awareness of the flight crew," the report said.

That contrasts with the findings of a separate investigation into the crash by officials in Singapore, details of which were released shortly after the ASC report.

The Singaporean report singled out several flaws at the airport, which they said played a "critical role" in the crash.

Warning

The investigation by Taiwan's ASC noted that confusing runway markers and broken taxiway lights created a risk for the pilots.

However, their report said the risk was one the pilots had been informed of and did not play a key role in the crash.

83 of the 179 passengers and crew on board were killed -- the three pilots survived

Instead, the Taiwan reports said, there were several occasions on which the crew could have realized they were on the wrong runway if they had used their navigational equipment correctly.

Despite warnings about the closed runway, "the flight crew lost situational awareness and commenced takeoff on the wrong runway," it said.

As the plane began to leave the ground at the end of its take-off run it hit construction equipment with its wing, causing the aircraft to slam back into the runway and break up.

The crash was Singapore Airlines' first fatal accident.

The company has taken full responsibility for the accident and still employs the three pilots of the crashed jet, although they have not flown since.