A door apparently malfunctioned on a China Airlines jet soon after takeoff, causing panic among passengers and forcing it to return to Taipei's international airport. The airline apologised yesterday for the incident this month, and said it had asked planemaker Boeing to investigate.
The Boeing 747 bound for Los Angeles was 1,000 metres off the ground when a swishing sound was heard from a cabin door, airline spokesman Bruce Chen Peng-yu said.
'The pilot discovered a flashing signal, indicating something abnormal had occurred to the left cabin door at the rear of the plane. He decided to jettison fuel in the sea and turn back to Taoyuan International Airport,' Mr Chen said.
The spokesman said the cabin door had not been locked securely.
He said the airline had asked Boeing to investigate the problem, and especially the lack of any warning signal when Flight CI1008 took off.
'We apologise to the passengers for causing them panic and inconvenience,' Mr Chen said, adding that the flight, on December 8, had been delayed four hours.