Series of Real-Time EmergencyNet News Articles Concerning the Crash of Singapore Airlines Flt. SQ-006 at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport: 31 Oct 2000 to 3 Nov 2000

03 Nov 2000 - From http://www.emergency.com/ennday.htm

TAIWAN:

Plane Crash Kills 79 People

At least 79 people were killed and 85 others were injured when a Singapore Airlines jet crashed and erupted into a fireball on the runway in Taipei just before midnight on Tuesday. Investigators are looking into whether the airliner hit an object on the runway before the fiery crash. The plane was carrying 179 souls aboard.

By midday Wednesday, emergency workers had pulled the last bodies and the flight recorder black boxes from the wreckage of the Los Angeles-bound Boeing 747-400, which crashed on takeoff from Taipei's airport during a typhoon. Survivors reported hearing a bang, followed by a fireball that swept through the cabin from the front of the aircraft. The airliner was packed with fuel for the long haul across the Pacific.

Investigators are trying to figure out what might have caused the plane to crash, break into three parts and burst into flames, including the possibility that the aircraft hit a wheel from another vehicle on the runway. The captain reported that his plane struck an object on takeoff as it barreled down the runway in driving rain and heavy winds. An airline official said investigators found a wheel at the scene that did not belong to the SIA plane and added that it was unlikely that weather or mechanical problems were to blame. The pilot was among the 16 who walked away from the accident without injury.

The death toll could rise since many of the injured suffered serious burns after the airline burst into flames. One foreign passenger burned over 100 percent of the body had little hope for survival. Many of the dead were burned beyond recognition and would have to undergo DNA testing to identify them.

Survivors said the plane began to shake seconds after takeoff, then an explosion blew debris through the cabin and the plane crashed back down to the tarmac. A Civil Aeronautics Administration statement said the aircraft burst into flames after skidding off the runway and that conditions for take-offs and landings were acceptable.

18:30CST - 31 Oct 2000

Death Toll Rises To At Least Sixty-Eight in Jumbo Jet Crash

Taipei, Taiwan (EmergencyNet News) -- The death toll in the crash of Singapore Airlines Flt. 006 has risen to at least sixty-eight as rescuers continue to comb through the wreckage of the ill-fated jumbo jet. Rescue personnel say that the death toll may continue to rise. Sixty-eight people are also reported to have been injured in the crash and fire that engulfed the 747. Sixteen people are thought to have escaped unharmed. Numbers of others remain unaccounted for.

Speculation concerning the cause of the crash has already begun, even though no real facts have been established. Many in Taiwan believe that the crash was caused by a "wind-shear" or sudden cross-wind which interrupted the doomed plane's take-off roll. Other are blaming the crash on a collision with "something" on the ground, that "something" being unspecified at the time of this report. The pilot of Flt. 006 reportedly said on air traffic control frequencies that he had struck something.  ERRI aviation security experts said that it was entirely too early to even guess what the may have been the cause of the crash.

EmergencyNet News is monitoring events in Taiwan closely and will provide additional reports if/when more details become available...

 *****

13:25CST - 31 Oct 2000

SQ006 Crash; Death Toll Expected to Rise

Taipei, Taiwan (EmergencyNet News) -- Even though conflicting reports continue to be received, it is now believed that the death toll in the crash of Singapore Airline 747-400 is expected to rise.  Witnesses in Taiwan are reporting, at this time, that "several bodies" have been recovered by rescue services at the scene. Exact casualty counts remain elusive at the time of this report, with one press source reporting that six people have been confirmed dead and CNN reporting at 13:25CST that as many as forty-seven (47) people have died. The whereabouts of a number of other passengers is still unknown at the time of this report. 

Taiwan Premier Chang Chun-Hsiung is reported by the Reuters News service, at 12:18EST, as saying that there may be as many as a total of one hundred (100) people dead in the now obviously fatal crash. 

Singapore Airlines has issued a phone number for family members worried about relatives on the flight. Family members ONLY can call 1-800-828-0508 for more information. Information will also reportedly be made available on the airline's web site: http://www.singaporeairlines.com

                                               *****

12:15CST - 31 Oct 2000

Conflicting Reports on Casualty Toll

Taipei, Taiwan (EmergencyNet News) -- Conflicting reports continue to be issued by various sources about the death and injury toll in the crash of Singapore Airlines Flt. SQ006.  As may be evident in previous EmergencyNet News reports (below), the establishment of the official number of people injured or killed in today's crash remains difficult. 

A Singapore Airlines spokesman, James Boyd, reports that there are no deaths attributed to the crash and that "none of the injuries were life-threatening." Singapore airlines is well known in the aviation industry for an outstanding safety record prior to today's incident. 

Other reports, including those from a local Taipei television station say that one person is dead and eighty-two others are injured, including five in critical condition. A third normally reputable source says that more than 90 people are still reported "missing" and unaccounted for by airport officials.  

***** 

11:30CST - 31 Oct 2000

747 Down; Number of Dead and Injured Unknown 

Taipei, Taiwan (EmergencyNet News) -- Additional unconfirmed reports continue to come in regard to the crash of a Singapore Airlines 747 at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport. According to press reports, at least 30 people have been injured and taken to local hospitals, but another normally reliable source says that number may be significantly higher. It is not currently known if there were any fatalities, as the plane reportedly "burst into flames," went down, and apparently collided with at least one other plane. 179 souls, including 161 passengers and 18 crew members, were believed to be on-board at the time of the incident. 

The crash comes as Typhoon Xangsane approaches Taiwan, with at least 90m.p.h. winds and heavy rain.  The Typhoon is expected to make landfall on Taiwan on Wednesday.

Coincidently, today's crash in Taiwan comes exactly one year, to the day, after the so-far unresolved Egypt Air Flt. 990 crash off the coast of Massachusetts. 

***** 

10:15CST - 31 Oct 2000

Los Angeles Bound Plane Crashes in Taiwan; Few Details

Taipei. Taiwan (EmergencyNet News) According to various reports coming into the ERRI/EmergencyNet News Watchdesk,  Singapore Airlines Flt. 006, that was enroute to Los Angeles, CA, has crashed on take-off. The incident happened in the midst of rain and high winds. The incident happened at about 23:18 p.m. local time (10:18 a.m. EST). Few other confirmed details are immediately available...

© EmergencyNet News Service, 2000. All rights reserved. Redistribution or republication without expressed permission of ERRI/EmergencyNet News is prohibited by law.

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