Singapore Airlines Flight 006

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**Singapore Airlines Flight 006**
Summary
Date	October 31, 2000
Type	Accidental Collision with Runway Obstructions
Site	Chiang Kai Shek International Airport
Fatalities	83
Injuries	71
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 747-400
Operator	Singapore Airlines
Tail number	9V-SPK
Passengers	159
Crew	20
Survivors	96

Singapore Airlines Flight SQ006 was a scheduled flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Los Angeles International Airport via Chiang Kai Shek International Airport, Taiwan.

On October 31, 2000, at 1517 UTC, 2317 Taipei local time, 9V-SPK, a Boeing 747-400, attempted to take off from the wrong runway at Chiang Kai Shek 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). As a result, the aircraft collided into construction equipment parked on Runway 05R. With poor visibility due to heavy rain, the flight crew did not see the parked machinery on Runway 05R until the aircraft was too close. The aircraft collided into the construction equipment and broke up into pieces. A massive fire followed. 79 of 159 passengers and 4 of 20 crew members died in the accident.

1 Findings
2 Controversy
3 Aftermath
4 Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcript
5 Similar incidents
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] 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's 'Findings Related to Probable Causes', which are 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 Para Visual Display (PVD) and the Primary Flight Display (PFD), which would have indicated that the aircraft was lined up on the wrong runway. Coupled with the imminent arrival of the typhoon and the poor weather conditions, the flight crew lost situational awareness and attempted to take off from the wrong runway.

[edit] Controversy

The report by ASC was deemed controversial by Singapore's Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (now Ministry of Transportation), 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, with some of the critical lights 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 eight days before the accident.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) also issued a statement after the release of the ASC report. In their statement, SIA 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 not being able to see the aircraft. SIA 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 death of 83 people.

Runways which are closed are not normally lighted, to make it clear they are not in use. But this is not the case at Chiang Kai-shek airport, where 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/yellow lights and only the green centreline lighting was illuminated on the parallel runway. On the taxiway to the runways, four large signs point the way to 05L, he added, but 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 terminal. The pilot confirmed twice to the control tower that he was on the correct runway, but controllers did not know the plane had actually gone on to the wrong runway because the airport lacks ground radar and the plane was out of sight of the tower at the time of its takeoff.

[edit] 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 for 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. However, 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 - "Tropical" at that time instead of the standard Singapore Airlines livery. After the accident, its sister aircraft, 9V-SPL, which was the only other aircraft with the "Tropical" livery, was immediately repainted back into the standard Singapore Airlines livery. The "Tropical" livery was intended to promote the new First Class and new Business Class of the airline. The colourful livery has never been reintroduced onto any other Singapore Airlines aircraft since then.

Dozens of survivors and relatives of those killed have filed lawsuits against the airline and Taiwanese authorities.^[1]

[edit] Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) transcript

The following are selected excerpts from SQ006's CVR prior to the accident. All times are in UTC. Conversation among crew is partly in Singlish.[1]
15:14:58: Pilot-flying (PF)- Tell them we ready lah
15:15:02: Radio 2 (RDO2)- Singapore Six ready
15:15:04: Tower (TWR)- Singapore Six roger, runway zero five left, taxi into position and hold
15:15:08: RDO2- Taxi into position and hold, Singapore Six
15:15:12: Pilot-not-flying (PNF)- I get them seated ah
15:15:12: PF- Ok below the line please... yah
15:15:15: PNF- Cabin crew to your takeoff station thanks
15:15:22: TWR- Singapore Six, runway zero five left, wind zero two zero at two eight, gust to five zero, cleared for take off
15:15:30: RDO2- Cleared for takeoff, runway zero five left, Singapore Six
15:16:43: Observer pilot (OBS)- Ok, thrust ref toga toga
15:16:43: PNF- Thrust ref toga toga
15:16:44: PF- Ok, thrust ref toga toga
15:16:54: OBS- Hold
15:16:54: PNF- Hold
15:16:54: PF- Roger
15:16:55: OBS- Eighty knots
15:16:55: PNF- Eighty knots
15:16:56: PF- Ok, my control
15:17:13: PNF- V1
15:17:13: OBS- V1
15:17:16: PF- S**t, something there
15:17:17: Sound of first impact
15:17:18: ****waaah****
15:17:18: Sounds of series of impacts
15:17:22: End of recording

[edit] Similar incidents

Comair Flight 5191 crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, USA on 27 August 2006, after Runway 26 was used instead of the assigned Runway 22. The accident claimed 49 fatalities out of 50 passengers and crew members; the only survivor was the first officer.