Italian captain hired out by Irish company

The pilot of the China Airlines plane worked for an Irish firm that rents out aircrew.

Captain Gerardo Lettich, 58, joined PARC Aviation two years ago and was posted to Taiwan on a contract.

'He has been with us since July 1997,' PARC Aviation chief executive Tim Shattock said.

An experienced pilot said investigators should examine whether the crew were following the same sets of procedure. Language should not have been a problem, said the pilot, but 'even if there was no antagonism because one worked for the airline and one as a contractor, there might have been misunderstanding.' A statement from PARC Aviation early today said a subsidiary, PARC-CV Ltd, had had a contract with China Airlines since 1997.

It said Captain Lettich was a qualified MD-11 instructor captain and had had more than 23 years of accident-free service with a major European flag-carrier airline.

Captain Lettich has been initially interviewed by investigators.