Singapore Airlines Flight 006

Singapore Airlines Flight 006

Occurrence
Date	October 31, 2000
Summary	Accidental collision with runway obstructions
Site	Chiang Kai-shek International Airport
Aircraft type	Boeing 747-400
Operator	Singapore Airlines
Registration	9V-SPKdisaster
Flight origin	Singapore Changi Airport
Last stopover	Chiang Kai-shek International Airport
Destination	Los Angeles International Airport
Passengers	159
Crew	20
Fatalities	83
Injuries	71
Survivors	96

Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006 was a scheduled flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai-Shek Airport (now Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport) in Taiwan.

On October 31, 2000, at 15:17 UTC, 23:17 Taipei local time, 9V-SPK, a Boeing 747-400, attempted to take off from the wrong runway at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport during heavy rain caused by Typhoon Xangsane. The crew attempted takeoff on runway 05R, which had been closed for repairs, instead of the assigned runway 05L (which runs parallel to 05R). Due to poor visibility in the heavy rain, the flight crew did not see that construction equipment had been parked on runway 05R. The aircraft collided with the machinery and broke into pieces. A massive fire followed. 79 of 159 passengers and 4 of 20 crew members died in the accident. Many of the dead were seated in the middle section of the aircraft; the fuel stored in the wings exploded and sent balls of flame through that section .

Casualties

Out of the 179 passengers and crew on the aircraft at the time of the accident, 83 were killed, 39 suffered from serious injuries, 32 had minor injuries, while 25 were uninjured. Amongst those who perished, there were 4 crew members.

The aircraft had 5 first-class passengers, 28 business-class passengers, and 126 economy-class passengers [1].

Nationality	Passengers		Crew		Total
	Total	Killed	Total	Killed	Total	Killed
Australia	1	0	0	0	1	0
Cambodia	1	0	0	0	1	0
Canada	1	0	0	0	1	0
Germany	1	0	0	0	1	0
India	11	10	0	0	11	10
Indonesia	5	1	0	0	5	1
Ireland	1	0	0	0	1	0
Japan	1	1	0	0	1	1
Malaysia	8	4	1	0	9	4
Mexico	3	0	0	0	3	0
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	1	1
New Zealand	2	0	0	0	2	0
Philippines	1	1	0	0	1	1
Singapore	11	8	17	4	28	12
Spain	1	0	0	0	1	0
Taiwan (Republic of China)	55	26	2	0	57	26
Thailand	2	0	0	0	2	0
United Kingdom	4	2	0	0	4	2
United States	47	24	0	0	47	24
Vietnam	2	1	0	0	2	1
Total	159	79	20	4	179	83

Amongst the Singaporeans who perished were Mrs. Elma Thwaites, mother of Singapore Turf Club horse-trainer Malcolm Thwaites, Dr. Sung Kah Kay, assistant professor of the National University of Singapore's Department of Computer Science [2] [3] and Captain Lim Kim Hock, a Republic of Singapore Air Force pilot on his way to the Air National Guard to attend the Advanced Fighter Weapons Instructor Course. In addition, four of them were Motorola employees.

All of the flight crew originated from Taipei [4]. The crew consisted of 12 males and 8 females [5]. Of the flight crew, 2 males and 2 females died [6].

Of the passengers on the TPE-LAX leg, 77 flew from Singapore and 82 flew from Taipei. Of the passengers originating from Singapore, 37 died. Of the passengers originating from Taipei, 42 died [7]. Of the three male passengers identified as infants, two Indians originated from Singapore, one Taiwanese originated from Taipei, and all three died [8].

Investigation findings

An investigation into the accident was conducted by the Taiwan Aviation Safety Council (ASC). The final report was issued by the ASC on 24 April 2002. In the report section "Findings Related to Probable Causes," which detailed factors that played a major role in the circumstances leading to the accident, it was stated that the flight crew did not review the taxi route, despite having all the relevant charts, and as a result did not know the aircraft had entered the wrong runway. Upon entering the wrong runway, the flight crew had neglected to check the paravisual display (PVD) and the primary flight display (PFD), which would have indicated that the aircraft was lined up on the wrong runway. According to the ASC, these errors, coupled with the imminent arrival of the typhoon and the poor weather conditions, caused the flight crew to lose situational awareness and led them to attempt to take off from the wrong runway.

Controversy

The report by ASC was deemed controversial by Singapore's Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (now Ministry of Transport), Singapore Airlines and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations (IFALPA), among others.

Singaporean officials protested that the report did not present a full account of the incident and was incomplete, as responsibility for the accident appeared to have been placed mainly on the flight crew of SQ006, while other equally valid contributing factors had been played down. The team from Singapore that participated in the investigation felt that the lighting and signage at the airport did not measure up to international standards. Some critical lights were missing or not working. No barriers or markings were put up at the start of the closed runway, which would have alerted the flight crew that they were on the wrong runway. The Singapore team felt that these two factors were given less weight than was proper, as another flight crew had almost made the same mistake of using runway 05R to take off just days before the accident.

Singapore Airlines also issued a statement after the release of the ASC report. In their statement, Singapore Airlines reiterated the points brought up by the Singapore investigators and added that air traffic control (ATC) did not follow their own procedure when they gave clearance for SQ006 to take off despite ATC's not being able to see the aircraft. Singapore Airlines also clarified that the PVD was meant to help the flight crew maintain the runway centreline in poor visibility, rather than to identify the runway in use.

The statement by Kay Yong, managing director of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, implied that pilot error played a major role in the crash of the Boeing 747-400, which led to the deaths of 83 people.

In general, airport runways that are closed are not normally lighted, to make it clear they are not in use. At Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, a single switch controls green lights on the common taxiway to both runways and on the centreline of runway 05R. Civil Aeronautics Administration Deputy Director Chang Kuo-cheng said runway 05L was fully lit on Tuesday night by white and yellow lights and only the green centreline lighting was illuminated on closed runway 05R. On the taxiway to the runways, four large signs point the way to runway 05L, he added, and he refused to state explicitly that pilot error was the primary cause of the mix-up.

Runway 05R was not blocked off by barriers because part of the strip was used by landing planes to taxi back to the airport terminal. The pilot confirmed twice with the control tower that he was on the correct runway; controllers did not know the plane had actually gone on to the wrong runway because the airport lacked ground radar and the plane was out of sight of the tower at the time of its takeoff.

Steven Courtney and John Wiggins, survivors of the crash, stated in a USA Today article that the staff were unable to help the passengers escape from the aircraft due to being frozen by fear and/or due to lack of competence in emergency procedures. The Straits Times carried reports of flight attendants saving lives of passengers . The Australian reported that some flight attendants helped passengers and some flight attendants fled the aircraft before all passengers were accounted for [9].

Aftermath

After the release of the ASC report, Taiwanese public prosecutors called upon the flight crew of SQ006 to return to Taiwan for questioning and the three-member crew complied. Rumours abounded during that period that the pilots might be detained in Taiwan and charged with negligence. IFALPA had previously stated that it would advise its members of the difficulties of operating into Taiwan if the flight crew of SQ006 were prosecuted. The prosecutors did not press charges and the flight crew were allowed to leave Taiwan.

Singapore Airlines changed the flight route designation to SQ030 after the incident.

The accident aircraft 9V-SPK was painted in Singapore Airlines special promotion livery, a scheme called "Tropical," at the time of the accident. The special livery was intended to promote Singapore Airlines' new first class and new business class seatings. After the accident, 9V-SPK's sister aircraft, 9V-SPL, the only other aircraft painted with the promotional livery, was immediately repainted with standard Singapore Airlines livery. The colourful livery has not been reintroduced in Singapore Airlines' aircraft since the accident.

Dozens of survivors and relatives of those killed filed lawsuits against the airline and Taiwanese authorities. Singapore Airlines denied culpability and the pilot and co-pilot were subsequently fired by the airline.

See also

• Comair Flight 5191, which crashed near Lexington, Kentucky, after using the wrong runway for takeoff.
• List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners
• Air safety

External links

• Taiwan Aviation Safety Council report on Singapore Airlines Flight 006
• Aviation Safety Network summary for Singapore Airlines Flight 006
• Cockpit voice recorder and air traffic control transcript for Singapore Airlines Flight 006
• Fate of SQ006, Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved on 28 January 2006.
• Rushing to Die: The Crash of Singapore Airlines Flight 006
• [10]
• List of passengers and crew on SQ 006
• List of deceased on SQ 006
• List of deceased on SQ 006
• CNN Asia now "Relatives try to identify 81 bodies in Singapore Airlines crash"
• CNN Asia now "Flight recorders recovered at crash scene in Taiwan"
• CNN Interview with John Diaz, a survivor
• CNN Transcript "Singapore Airlines Official Promises to Do All Possible for Flight 006 Victims, Their Families"
• The Telegraph "A miracle so many survived"
• The Telegraph "I can't believe they tried to take off"
• Singapore Airlines news releases regarding SQ 006
• Archive of Memorial Website for SQ 006
• Asia-Pacific Resource Management News
• Doomed SQ 006
• Crash page from the Washington Post

25.0815°N 121.2300°E / 25.0815; 121.2300