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Lawrence Chung

Taiwan’s EVA Air has come under fire for its controversial decision to take off and land its planes while the island was under the strong influence of Typhoon Megi, which killed at least five people and injured 622 others on Tuesday.
More than 400 international flights were cancelled as Megi, packing winds of up to 160km/h, swept into Taiwan.
Many airlines already suspended their flights, but EVA Air had no fear of the typhoon
SET Taiwan cable television
But 30 of EVA’s 45 flights, including those earlier diverted to Hong Kong and Okinawa, took off and landed in strong wind and rain in what local media and online commenters criticised as reckless and risky moves.
“Many airlines already suspended their flights, but EVA Air had no fear of the typhoon and even managed to take off and land its planes at the airport,” SET Taiwan cable television reported.
“This is crazy,” the report said.
One Chinese villager dead and 32 others still missing after deadly Typhoon Megi triggers two landslides
Passengers also cried foul, some saying they wished they had never boarded the planes.
“I told them I wanted to take back my baggage, but they wouldn’t allow me to do so,” one female passenger told SET after reportedly spending hours waiting for her flight to land.
Another passenger wrote on her Facebook account: “Many people threw up and two even passed out.”
She described the rocking motion of the plane as it tried to land in the strong wind.
The passenger said she was trying to write her will using her cellphone but because the flight was so bumpy she kept hitting the wrong keys and typing the wrong words.
“Many were crying ... it was terrifying,” she wrote in her posts, which also showed a plane ticket with her name and the date of the flight.
Flights cancelled, schools shut, fishing boats recalled as deadly Typhoon Megi hits China
EVA defended its decision to continue the flights. “Flight safety has always been our top priority,” it said, adding it decided to fly after carefully checking the weather conditions and various standards listed by the Civil Aeronautics ­Administration.
All flights flying that day operated under circumstances of no safety risks and in line with aviation standards
EVA Air
“All flights flying that day operated under circumstances of no safety risks and in line with aviation standards,” it said.
But the CAA said yesterday it would investigate whether EVA followed all safety procedures and regulations.
Former pilot Yu Hao-wei said in addition to required standards of visibility, whether a plane could land safely depended on crosswind speeds. “If it does not exceed the limit and if the airport remains open, a pilot can choose whether to land or not,” he said.


Taiwan’s EVA Air hits turbulence over Typhoon Megi flights

More than 400 international flights were cancelled as Megi, packing winds of up to 160km/h, swept into Taiwan. Photo: EPA

One Chinese villager dead and 32 others still missing after deadly Typhoon Megi triggers two landslides

An aerial photo shows Chinese rescuers searching for survivors in the village of Sucun, in Zhejiang province, on Thursday morning following Wednesday’s landslide. Photo AFP

This aerial photo taken on September 29, 2016 shows Chinese rescuers searching for survivors at a landslide area in the village of Sucun in Suichang county, east China's Zhejiang province. A landslide which hit a village in eastern China on September 28 buried dozens of houses and left 27 people missing, state media reported. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

This aerial photo taken on September 29, 2016 shows a view of a landslide area in the village of Sucun in Suichang county, east China's Zhejiang province. A landslide which hit a village in eastern China on September 28 buried dozens of houses and left 27 people missing, state media reported. / AFP PHOTO / STR / China OUT

Flights cancelled, schools shut, fishing boats recalled as deadly Typhoon Megi hits China

Megi, which killed four people and injured more than 523 in Taiwan, made landfall in Fujian province early on Wednesday morning

(160927) -- QUANZHOU, Sept. 27, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Soldiers help fishermen strengthen fishing boats at a port in Shishi, southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 27, 2016. Megi, the 17th typhoon this year, is expected to move to the southern Fujian coast on Wednesday morning after it made landfall in coastal eastern Taiwan Tuesday afternoon.   (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) (mp)

(160927) -- FUZHOU, Sept. 27, 2016 (Xinhua) -- A passenger waits at Fuzhou Railway Station in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, Sept. 27, 2016. Due to the upcoming Thyphoon Megi, at least 172 high-speed trains and 7 common speed trains have been out of service from Sept. 27 to 29. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei) (zkr)

This September 27, 2016 NASA satellite image shows Typhoon Megi (20W) over Taiwan. The third typhoon to hit Taiwan in two weeks killed four people and injured scores Tuesday, bringing violent winds and heavy rain as schools and offices closed. Typhoon Megi forced thousands to evacuate their homes and played havoc with rail and road networks as it made landfall in the eastern county of Hualien in the early afternoon. At 1000 GMT Megi was 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of the central city of Taichung, packing gusts of up to 191 kilometres per hour. / AFP PHOTO / NASA / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA" - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Fishing boats were recalled to port in Shishi, in southeast China's Fujian province, before Typhoon Megi struck on Wednesday. Photo: Xinhua

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Aviation watchdog to investigate whether carrier followed all safety procedures and regulations


Taiwan’s EVA Air hits turbulence over Typhoon Megi flights

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Aviation watchdog to investigate whether carrier followed all safety procedures and regulations

Aviation watchdog to investigate whether carrier followed all safety procedures and regulations