The global airline pilots' body yesterday joined the debate over the crash of the Singapore Airlines flight in Taiwan, condemning what it said was a growing tendency to apportion blame after aircraft accidents.
The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations said threats of legal action against pilots after disasters could harm the flow of information received by crash investigators.
The three crewman of Los Angeles-bound flight SQ006, which crashed on take-off in typhoon conditions on October 31, have been identified by Taiwanese investigators as the most likely primary cause of the disaster, which claimed 82 lives. The captain, Foong Chee-kong, selected a closed runway for take-off and sent the Boeing 747-400 barrelling into concrete blocks and construction equipment left on the tarmac.
Investigators are still looking into factors that may have contributed to Captain Foong's fateful decision, including the role of control tower personnel and airport lighting procedures.
The federation's intervention came as Singapore Airlines confirmed it had asked the Taiwanese authorities to protect crew held on the island while the cause of the crash is investigated. Media reports claiming the crew had received death threats could not be confirmed yesterday.
'What we have requested is for the authorities in Taiwan to give protection to the crew,' a Singapore Airline spokesman said yesterday. The airline had no knowledge of any specific threats against the men, the official said.