Could this be another TWA800? Center fuel tank explosion? Mark Bill Hough wrote: > This article from NYTimes.com > has been sent to you by psa188@juno.com. > > /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ > > Enjoy new investment freedom! > > Get the tools you need to successfully manage your portfolio > from Harrisdirect. Start with award-winning research. Then > add access to round-the-clock customer service from > Series-7 trained representatives. Open an account today and > receive a $100 credit! > > http://www.nytimes.com/ads/Harrisdirect.html > > \----------------------------------------------------------/ > > China Jet Broke in Sky Before Crash > > May 26, 2002 > By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS > > Filed at 10:10 a.m. ET > > PENGHU, Taiwan (AP) -- The China Airlines jet that crashed > Saturday with 225 people aboard broke up into four parts in > the sky before plunging into the Taiwan Strait, the chief > Taiwanese crash investigator said Sunday. No survivors have > been found. > > Military radar provided a clear picture of the Boeing > 747-200 splitting into four pieces, said Kay Yong, managing > director of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council. ``There was > an in-flight breakup above the altitude of 30,000 feet. We > are very positive about this,'' he said. > > He did not say what might have caused the plane to break > apart. > > Taiwan's government on Sunday ordered China Airlines to > ground four Boeing 747-200 cargo planes in its fleet until > inspections show they are safe. The four jets are 13 to 22 > years old. > > The government also demanded that the airline, Taiwan's > largest carrier, step up inspections of its 46 passenger > jets. > > Rough seas slowed the search for bodies and debris from the > plane. By Sunday, 78 bodies were pulled from the shimmering > water that reeked of jet fuel. > > Swells up to 10 feet high battered fishing boats and coast > guard ships scanning the crash site north of the Taiwanese > island chain of Penghu, about 30 miles off Taiwan's western > coast. > > Officials said they did not know what caused the crash of > Flight CI611, which went down Saturday afternoon about 20 > minutes after taking off from Taipei en route to Hong Kong. > The crew did not send distress signals before the plane > disappeared from radar screens. > > The transcript of the pilots' conversation with the control > tower was released Sunday and included no mention of any > problem with the plane. > > James L.S. Chang, a China Airlines vice president, declined > to speculate on the cause of the crash, but he said it was > unusual. > > ``At such a high altitude, 35,000 feet, to have something > go wrong -- and the pilot didn't even have time to send a > distress signal. Now, that's a big question mark,'' Chang > said. > > Near the crash site Sunday, the smell of fuel was thick in > the air and there was a rainbow-colored glimmer on the sea > from an oily slick as big as a football field. > > Rescue officials said 78 bodies had been found. The > passengers included 190 Taiwanese, 14 people from Macau and > Hong Kong, nine Chinese citizens, one Singaporean and one > Swiss citizen. > > The Boeing 747-200 had been flying for 22 years, and China > Airlines was to remove it from its fleet next month and > deliver it to the small regional carrier Orient Thai > Airline, which had already purchased the aircraft, China > Airlines said. > > China Airlines said the plane was well-maintained and had > been completely overhauled last year. > > Suspicions that an in-flight explosion caused the crash > were fueled by debris found in rice fields in Taiwan's west > coast county of Changhua, near the plane's flight path. > > Farmers found scraps of airline magazines, immigration > forms and luggage claim stickers with ``Flight CI611'' > printed on them. They also found a China Airlines seat > cover that appeared to be stained with blood. > > In Penghu, Chang Shing-yeu, the director of a coast guard > helicopter squadron, said pilots spotted the plane's cabin > door, a wheel and what appeared to be part of the belly. > > More than 400 rescue workers, 22 coast guard boats and two > helicopters were searching for bodies and the plane, said > Chang Cheh-chin, deputy director of a Penghu-based coast > guard unit. > > He said pilots had seen ``mostly flotsam, chairs and life > preservers that have floated to the surface.'' > > Soldiers unloaded corpses in gray body bags from a large > coast guard vessel. Nearby, 40 rescue workers in red suits > unpacked high-tech search equipment, including > remote-controlled underwater cameras. Others laid out lines > of thick rope for pulling up wreckage. > > Troops were placing the debris, including seats and a sink > from the aircraft restroom, in a roped-off area. > > After a series of crashes in the 1990s, China Airlines > became known for having one of the world's worst airline > safety records -- 12 deadly accidents since 1969. > > The airline's last fatal crash was in 1999, when a jetliner > flipped over and burst into flames, killing three people > during a crash landing in Hong Kong. > > In recent years, China Airlines has been aggressively > retraining pilots and revamping its safety procedures. > > The company published a half-page ad in Taiwan's major > Chinese-language papers, apologizing for the crash in > large, bold Chinese characters. > > The apology, signed by the company's chairman, Y.L. Lee, > said: ``We want to express our deepest regrets to the > victims' families and the public. We will do our best to > help the families to recover.'' > > http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Taiwan-Plane-Crash.html?ex=1023433082&ei=1&en=fdb351380f330067 > > HOW TO ADVERTISE > --------------------------------- > For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters > or other creative advertising opportunities with The > New York Times on the Web, please contact > onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media > kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo > > For general information about NYTimes.com, write to > help@nytimes.com. > > Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company