TAIPEI, May 26 (Reuters) - Taiwan's China Airlines (2610) said on Sunday the crash of its Boeing 747-200 was likely to force the carrier to cut its 2002 financial forecast. China Airlines vice president James Chang said the airline's insurance premium cost would rise in the fourth quarter, putting the company's earnings under "heavy pressure". "It will cause fairly heavy pressure on our earnings. Financial forecasts we have submitted to the Stock Exchange may have to be revised next week," Chang told a news conference. Before the disaster, China Airlines forecast a pretax profit of T$1.4 billion in 2002 compared with T$1.64 billion recorded in 2001. China Airlines' 2001 net profits fell 39 percent from the 2000 level and was its worst performance since 1998 when an Airbus crashed at the Taipei International Airport. China Airlines' shares closed up T$0.30 or 1.88 percent at 16.30 on Friday. Bolstered by growing optimism on direct transport links with China, the stock has risen 78 percent since early October, outperforming a 66 percent rise on the bigger TAIEX (TWII) index over the same period. ©2002 Reuters Limited.