On August 21, Taiwan's "civil aviation authority" hailed the crew of the China Airlines plane for successfully evacuating all the passengers even as flames tore through the jet.

All 165 passengers and eight crew on board the China Airlines' B737-800 jet barely slid down emergency chutes and raced to safety before explosions tore through it moments after landing at Okinawa, Japan, on August 20.

"Given the information we have gathered, the crew evacuated all the passengers in accordance with standard operation procedure, which requires that all the passengers be evacuated within 90 seconds in case of emergency," said Charles Lin, a spokesman for the department.

The department said the jet had a technical problem two weeks before, but ruled that out as a cause for the fire.

Airline spokesman Johnson Sun described the crew as "heroes" for an evacuation that took three minutes.

"The captain was the last one to get out ... He is brave," Sun said in Taipei while introducing seven crew members upon their return. A Japanese flight attendant is staying back at home.

TV footage showed the captain, You Chien-kuo, 48, climbing out of the cockpit, seconds before an explosion.

You thanked his crew, saying: "They immediately evacuated all the passengers upon receiving my order. Without them, I would not have the opportunity to stand here."

The crew declined to provide details before questioning by authorities.

You flew for the Taiwanese air force for 20 years before retiring six years ago to work for the airline, officials said.

At Naha airport in Okinawa, airline president Chao Kuo-shuai handed out apologies and cash to passengers on August 21.

Chao shook hands with each of the Taiwanese tourists who fled the plane just moments before it exploded in a raging fireball at Naha airport.

"I apologize from the bottom of my heart," Chao told the Taiwanese, giving each one a red envelope containing US$100. "I feel ashamed for causing so much trouble."