Singapore Airlines yesterday sacked the two pilots who were controlling a jumbo jet that crashed at CKS International Airport two years ago, killing 83 people.
"We felt it was the right thing to do," an airline spokesman said, but the Air Line Pilots Association called the decision "harsh and inappropriate."
Pilots Foong Chee Kong and Latiff Cyrano had mistakenly turned on to a runway at the airport that was closed for repairs when preparing to take off on a stormy night, and their jumbo jet exploded when it ploughed into construction equipment.
Ninety-six people aboard the plane survived, including the pilots. Taiwanese authorities blamed pilot error for the tragedy, with manslaughter charges against the pair conditionally suspended for three years.
Singapore Airlines said in a statement it had "terminated the services of captain Foong and first officer Latiff in accordance with their terms of employment."
The airline spokesman said a clause in the pilots' contracts allowed for their services to be terminated with three months' salary in lieu of notice.
A third pilot in the cockpit, first officer Ng Kheng Leng, was not held liable by Taiwanese officials and retained his job with the airline, as he was not engaged in the actual operation of flight SQ600.
An Air Line Pilots Association official told the Straits Times' online edition there was "no evidence to show that the pilots were reckless or had disregarded any rules, so this decision is harsh and inappropriate."
Foong and Latiff were told of their dismissal yesterday, two days after the airline received confirmation from the Taiwan High Prosecutor's Office endorsing a lower court decision to suspend the manslaughter charges.
The original decision by the Taoyuan District Court said the charges would be lifted if Foong and Latiff complied with certain conditions during a three-year probation period.
The conditions included a ban on the pilots operating any aircraft entering or leaving Taiwan for one year, and a requirement that they perform 240 hours of community service in Singapore.
The decision to suspend the sentence was taken because of the better-than-average flying record of the pilots, the remorse they showed to the victims and the low visibility on the night of the accident, Taoyuan prosecutor Chiang Yuan-chen said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS