Dear James (airlinesimulation.com) and Walter (DCA) With the official report about to be released, the sparks have already begun to fly. Here's an article from today's Straits Times. The URL is http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,110587,00.html? The Straits Times MARCH 27, 2002 Singapore left out of talks in SQ 006 probe Views vital for a 'more balanced' crash report, says official By Lawrence Chung STRAITS TIMES TAIWAN BUREAU TAIPEI - Singapore officials are unhappy that they were excluded from discussions when Taiwanese investigators analysed the facts collected in preparing the report on the October 2000 crash of Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 006. Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council (ASC) investigated the Oct 31 crash that led to 83 deaths and its report apparently lays the blame solely on the pilots. The Singapore team's leader, Mr Ho See Hai, Inspector of Accidents with the Transport Ministry, said it was unfair that Singapore was left out in the analysis phase. 'I hope the ASC can accept our views so that it can work out a more balanced report,' said Mr Ho, who came to Taiwan on Monday with three aviation consultants. He delivered his report orally to a six-member ASC board, presenting, for the first time, Singapore's own analysis of the accident, and noting that many contributory factors, such as unclear runway markings and lights, had been played down in the final draft. Mr Ho said his team was given no chance to question the panel during the 40-minute presentation. Nor did the panel make any comment or ask them any questions. The ASC's managing director Yong Kay, however, claimed it had been agreed between the Singapore team and the council that no questions would be asked during the presentation yesterday. But he admitted that the ASC board members had asked the four representatives from Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration some questions 'for clarification'. Since the draft report was handed over to Singapore in January, aviation officials in Singapore have been critical of the 'distorted picture' they say it presents. They are understood to be so unhappy with the 'unacceptable' draft that they are ready to go public if still dissatisfied with the final report. Dr Yong told The Straits Times that Taiwanese regulations required that the crash analysis be conducted 'independently' by ASC investigators. 'In a highly complex case like this, we try to be as independent as possible,' he said. Each party involved, he said, has been encouraged to gather facts and other evidence to help investigators determine what caused the accident and take corrective action. Dr Rob Lee, formerly of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and now a consultant with the Singapore team, said he did not understand why Singaporean investigators were not allowed to take part in the analysis discussions. Dr Lee observed that he had been working at the same time in the last four months on the Gulf Air accident in Iran, and 'all of the accredited representatives have participated in the analysis all the way through'. Dr Jarnail Singh, chairman of the Civil Aviation Medical Board of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), said it was important for investigators to look at various factors in order to make a more balanced report. Captain Kenneth Edward Toft, a flight-operations inspector with CAAS and a consultant on the team, said it was also important for investigators to try to understand the errors and their causes, to prevent a repeat. Dr Singh and Dr Lee said the pilots were psychologically and medically all right, but such factors as weather conditions and runway markings do cause pilots to make mistakes. 'Even the best people make errors. What is necessary is to design a system to prevent that error,' said Dr Lee. The final report is expected to be released between April 26 and 29.