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SIA Accepts Finding in Investigations on SQ 006 Tragedy
The Top Executive of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) has stated that his company accepts the preliminary finding of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council and will bear full responsibilities for the SQ 006 tragedy.
Speaking at a press conference Friday night, SIA's Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Cheong Choong Kong said that evidence presented by the investigation team which included experts from Singapore proves that the plane was on the wrong runway.
A statement released at a press conference in Taipei earlier Friday Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council managing director Kay Yong indicated that the pilot could have taken off on runway 05R instead of the designated 05L and the error played a major role in the crash of the Boeing 747-400, which led to the death of 81 people.
Cheong stated that "We accept this finding." He also stated that the SIA will bear full responsibility for the fatal accident as the pilots are SIA's pilots and the aircraft is also SIA's plane.
The SIA's top executive emphasized that "It is critical that we understand exactly what happened and precisely what made the cockpit crew believe they were on the correct runway."
"We need to understand what the contributing factors were," he said, adding "Apart from working with the investigators and the airport authorities, we will be examining all possibilities ourselves to discover what could have led to this fatal error."
"Once the answers are established, we will take whatever action is necessary to ensure this tragic accident doesn't happen again," he promised.
Cheong disclosed that the pilots for Flight SQ 006 have repeatedly claimed that their aircraft was on the correct runway during the takeoff when they were inquired by their superiors.
According to Cheong, these pilots presently are not allowed to leave Taiwan and return to Singapore.
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