Fuel Leakage Suspected Cause of China Airlines Plane Fire
Aug. 20, 2007
While the exact reason of the fire which destroyed a plane of China Airlines from Taiwan in southern Japan's Naha airport on August 20 is unknown, fuel leakage is a suspected cause of the accident, officials from the Japanese Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry said on August 20.
According to initial investigation of the Japanese side, the Boeing 737-800's right-wing engine caught fire first, and the flame made its way to the left-wing engine through the fuel which leaked from the right-wing engine onto the ground under the fuselage.
The left-wing engine exploded soon after the fire reached it, investigators said.
The transport ministry is scheduled to carry out thorough investigation about the reason leading to the mass leakage of fuel on August 21.
Taiwan's aviation officials and president of China Airlines arrived in Naha later on August 20.
Japan's National Police Agency (NPA) denied any terrorist attack behind the accident.
The plane, numbered CI120, arrived at Naha, the Capital of Okinawa Prefecture, at 10:27 a.m. The fire broke out at 10:35 a.m., three minutes after the plane reached its designated parking spot.
According to investigators, two ground mechanics first saw the leakage of fuel and reported immediately to the captain, who then stopped the right-wing engine, turned on its interior fire-extinguishing equipment, and ordered the emergency evacuation procedure.
All of the 157 passengers and eight crew members left the plane unharmed through emergency slides at four doors in 90 seconds, and the most severe explosion happened when the last group of passengers was just no more than 50 meters away from the plane, Japanese media reported.
One crew member and a mechanic on the ground were slightly injured, firefighters said.
Recorded video showed that strong fire and thick smoke rose from the middle and end parts of the plane before about 10 fire department vehicles and about 100 firefighters gathered around the plane to put off the fire in about 60 minutes.
The plane, which departed Taipei earlier in the day and landed at Naha at 10:27 a.m. local time (01:27 GMT), broke into two pieces and tilted down to the ground, with its left body almost burnt out.