SQ Special Part One - Tragedy in Taipei
Telecast: 4th November 2000, 10.30pm

It happened in a brief moment.

Just 11 seconds after take-off, and 6 metres off the ground, SQ 006 came crashing down.

The Rainbow jet broken in three parts, all over the runway of the Chiang Kai Shek airport, a scatter of debris.

The tail was shaking from the wind. Eventually it started on the runway and all of a sudden the plane broke apart. I was sitting at the tail section -fortunately the last seat. The tail section was completely on its side. We couldn't use the emergency doors because it was several feet up. It started to fill with smoke, and eventually there was confusion. -- Survivor

Confusion doesn't begin to describe the immediate reactions following the crash.

Rescue work began under harsh conditions in the face of Typhoon Xangsane. 78 bodies were recovered from the wreckage.

The weather became the first blame in the search for answers to the question why did the crash happen.

The weather did concern me. I just had the sense, even the landing was a bumpy one. When we were on the runway, I almost feel seasick because there was so much movement on the plane. I did wonder how someone would be able to control it -- Survivor

I was in business class, second storey and I could see the cockpit and there was no visibility. Visibility was very poor, zero. So I asked the stewardess, if it was safe to take off. And she said that they have flown in worst weather than this in the past. -- Survivor

The first theory had been that a wind shear, caused by the typhoon, made the plane deviate from its flight path, leading to the crash.

Said Mr Rick Clements, VP of Public Affairs at SIA : "The decision to take off was the captain's. The weather conditions was deemed safe for take-off."

In Taipei the Control Tower had given the all clear, not just to SQ 006 but to other carriers too. The passenger who filmed the disaster was in a plane waiting to take off.

Just 15 minutes earlier, a China Airlines plane took off safely.

Now, the wind shear theory has been de-bunked. On Friday, Taiwan came up with the strongest statements yet to explain the crash: Pilot error.

The aircraft had taken off from the wrong runway

Said Mr Yong Kay, Managing Director of the Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council: "The runway he should have been is 5L. The runway he took off from was 5R."

While human error has been accepted as a reason, even by Singapore Airlines, some doubts remain.

"Apart from working with investigators and airport authorities, we will be examining all possibilities ourselves to discover what could have led to this fatal error," said Dr Cheong Choong Kong the CEO, of SIA.

Said Mr Clements: "It was unlikely that an experienced captain would have taxied his aircraft on a darkened runway that's out of use. But the aircraft was on the wrong runway. We want to understand how that could have happened."

The airport has three runways, two of which run parallel. SQ 006 was supposed to take off from 05 Left. But its wreckage was strewn all over its neighbouring 05 Right.

That, runway had been closed for repairs.

The first reports from the pilot indicated that he had seen an object and had hit it on take off.

"We had reported ourselves in an earlier news release that the captain hit an object in a runway. That's all we can say at the moment," said Mr Clements.

Construction equipment on the closed runway, is what investigators think could have been what SQ 006 hit.

The Chiang Kai Shek airport is not equipped with ASDA, a radar which allows the control tower to monitor the route a plane is taking on the ground.

Initial investigations have cleared the control tower of misdirecting the pilot.

But to a question of whether the control tower could see the aircraft clearly, the answer was No, according to Mr Yong Kay.

According to Taiwan authorities, the correct runway, 05Left was well-lit despite some damage by an earlier plane accident. But there are still uncertainties over whether the pilot could be misled by the lights.

Said Mr Yong Kay: "Centre lights has been green all along."

The investigations now underway may take some time in unraveling those crucial few seconds before life for everyone linked to SQ 006 was changed forever.

"Once the answer can be established, we will take whatever action necessary to ensure this tragic accident doesn't happen again. There are lessons to be learnt and we need to understand what they are. We fully accept the responsibility to passengers, crew and families. This is a terrible tragedy," said Dr Cheong.

But still questions remain: How could an experienced pilot end up on the wrong runway? Could he see clearly? Could the control tower or even pilots of other planes waiting for take off given a warning?

How could a Right, be so wrong?

Families begin the grim task of identifying the remains>>