The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday released more details concerning a cross-strait flight that landed in Taipei 24 hours late after returning to Shanghai to avoid bad weather.
The CAA disclosed communication transcripts between Shanghai Airlines flight FM80Y and the control tower in Taipei, in which it was clear that inclement weather prevented the flight from landing in Taipei.
The Shanghai Airlines flight was scheduled to arrive at Taipei Songshan Airport on Saturday morning.
After the pilot announced that the plane would soon land in Taipei, he turned back to Shanghai Pudong International Airport because of bad weather.
The passengers spent the night at Pudong airport, reboarding on Sunday. When they finally arrived in Taipei, passengers protested the decision to return to Shanghai on Saturday by refusing to embark for 30 minutes.
Wei Sheng-chih (魏勝之), director of Taipei International Airport Office, said yesterday the CAA was responsible for determining whether the pilot’s claims of bad weather could be substantiated.
“As to why tourists were stranded at Shanghai for a day, it may have something to do with Shanghai Airlines’ deployment of airplanes, flight attendants and pilots,” Wei said. “We cannot speak for them on those matters.”
The transcripts showed that the pilot contacted the Taipei Area Control Center before the aircraft approached Sulem, the flight control exchange point for cross-strait flights, at 10:28am on Saturday, asking for permission to deviate slightly from its course and fly east to avoid a thunderstorm.
The center consulted the military’s air operation center and agreed to the pilot’s request at 10:30am.
At 10:49am, the Shanghai Area Control Center asked the Taipei Area Control Center to instruct the pilot to fly westward.
The pilot said “the weather was really bad” and that he could soon get back on course if he continued eastward.
In the meantime, the aircraft was flying southward toward the Taiwan Strait, which no civilian flights are allowed to enter.
At 10:51am, the pilot requested permission to return to Pudong. Seven minutes later, the flight was again put under the control of the Shanghai Area Control Center.
Wang Kun-chou (王崑州), chief of the CAA’s Air Navigation and Weather Services, yesterday presented satellite charts for between 9am and 11am on Saturday, showing that there was a solid stationary front about 60km to 70km wide in the flight’s path.
Wang said the super cell storm system had a cloud height of 13,700m, while the flight was flying at an altitude of 10,300m. The flight could not have avoided the thunderstorm had it continued on its path.
“Considering the weather, we would advise against taking that risk,” Wang said. “But a pilot can determine if he is able to fly through a storm.”
Sheri Chen (陳華影), deputy director of the Taipei Area Control Center, said the pilot had not requested to land at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport instead of Songshan.
Chen said other flights flew through the storm at about the same time, but the planes were different models and slight differences in timing may have meant different weather conditions.
“Based on the transcripts, the pilot sounded normal and was trying to solve the issue of landing,” 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