The pilot and two co-pilots of the Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 that crashed here this week could face up to five years in jail on manslaughter charges, a prosecutor said Saturday.
At least 81 people died when Flight SQ006 crashed while taking off from a runway that was closed for repairs and littered with heavy digging equipment.
"If it is proved that pilot error had caused the air disaster, the three pilots would face manslaughter charges," Song Kuo-yeh, a prosecutor from Taoyuan County who is leading the investigation into the causes of the crash, told AFP.
The airline has acknowledged that the pilot's error in turning on to the wrong runway was the primary cause of the disaster, although there are still questions to be answered about whether his mistake was influenced by misleading lighting and why the closed runway was not blocked off.
"Even if there were errors at the airport, the pilots cannot be exonerated of responsibility," Song said.
The plane's Malaysian pilot, captain Foong Chee Kong, and co-pilots Latiff Cyrano and Ng Kheng Leng all survived the crash. They have been barred from leaving Taiwan pending the conclusion of the investigation into the catastrophe.
If convicted of manslaughter they would face a maximum jail term of five years, Song said.
But he stressed that charges would not be laid before a full investigation was completed, which could take months.
Ching Chih-jen, a prosecutor from the ministry of justice, said Taiwan would consider sending the three pilots to Singapore for trial if Singapore agrees to help Taiwan in similar cases.
Taiwan and Singapore have no extradition treaty nor are there precedents of mutual judicial assistance between them, Ching said.
Investigators have established that the ill-fated jumbo jet slammed into heavy digging equipment before crashing and bursting into flames.
The Los Angeles-bound Boeing 747 was carrying 159 passengers and 20 crew when it crashed late Tuesday as Typhoon Xangsane lashed the island.
Investigators said Friday that the pilot correctly acknowledged his takeoff clearance from the control tower but went ahead and used the wrong runway, which he had been told was under repair.
The closed runway, number 05R, runs parallel to the one the plane should have used, 05L.
SIA has accepted the preliminary findings of the Taiwanese authorities and said it will take full responsibility for the disaster.
Analysts said Saturday this left the airline open to huge legal suits which would inevitably hit both its bottom line and the company's image as a quality carrier.
The airline said it had made no decision on the future of the cockpit crew.
"We will be conducting our own investigation, and whether the pilot will have his service terminated will depend very much on that investigation, and what the contributory factors are that led to him making this dreadful mistake," SIA chief executive Cheong Choong Kong said.
Pilot error put SQ006 on the wrong runway but it remained a mystery why an experienced captain made such a "dreadful mistake," airline officials said Saturday.
Factors under investigation include why lights on the closed runway were turned on, why there were no barriers blocking off the closed runway, why was there no ground radar to pinpoint the plane, and whether other pilots who the saw the jet on the wrong strip attempted to alert authorities.
The aftermath of the tragedy has been made particularly painful for the families of the victims by difficulties in identifying their remains. Many corpses were charred beyond recognition in the crash.
Of the 81 passengers and crew killed in the tragedy, 52 bodies had been identified by mid-day Saturday, SIA said.
Twenty-five of the victims were Taiwanese, 24 Americans, 11 Singaporeans, 10 Indians, four Malaysians, two British, one Indonesian, one Japanese, one Filipino, one Vietnamese and one Dutch, according to SIA – TAIPEI (AFP)
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