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Chinese Jet Explodes Into Fire in Japan

By DEBBY WU,
AP
Posted: 2007-08-20 20:18:26
Filed Under: World News
NAHA, Japan (Aug. 20) - Taiwan grounded its fleet of Boeing 737-800 jetliners after a China Airlines plane exploded in a fireball Monday on the tarmac in Okinawa, and officials said a fuel leak may be to blame. All 165 passengers and crew scrambled down emergency chutes or jumped from cockpit windows - some just seconds before the blast.

Passengers described a normal landing after Flight CI-120 landed on the resort island of Okinawa from the Taiwanese capital of Taipei. But as the jet came to a stop near the terminal, they said that the left engine began smoking, followed by the right one.

Okinawa Airport traffic controllers had received no report from the pilot indicating anything was wrong as the plane came in to land and even as it stopped near the terminal to unload passengers, said Japanese Transport Ministry official Akihiko Tamura.

When the smoke started billowing outside the plane, the cabin crew already was standing by the doors, said a passenger who gave his surname as Tsang and identified himself as a guide for Taipei's Southeast Tours.

"The passengers saw the smoke first and they began to yell and demand that the doors be opened," he said.

Tamura said the fire started "when the left engine exploded a minute after the aircraft entered the parking spot."

Inside the plane, passengers recalled a scene of panic.

"When the smoke started, people were just pushing and shoving each other," said an unidentified female Taiwanese passenger. "It was total chaos."

The main explosion, which engulfed the center of the aircraft in flames, occurred after the passengers slid down the emergency chutes at the front and rear of the plane.

Screams erupted as passengers raced across the tarmac to get away from the burning plane, and emergency personnel moved in to fight the fire.

A figure believed to be the pilot hung onto the cockpit window for several seconds before dropping to the tarmac and sprinting away from the exploding plane.

There were no serious injuries among the 157 passengers, including two infants, and crew of eight, the Taiwan-based China Airlines said.

A Taiwanese woman said she was stricken with fear as she slid down the chute.

"I was running and crying, running and crying" said the woman, who declined to give her name.

Another passenger who gave only his surname, Chen, said he started running the moment he slid off the plane. "I ran so hard my sock tore," he said. "I think I got my life back."

Tsang said the evacuation took no more than 90 seconds.

"About 30 seconds after I slid down the chute and began to run toward the terminal, I heard two big explosions," he said. "I had no idea it would be this serious."

Video from Japanese broadcaster NHK showed a lone firefighter trying to douse the fire immediately after the explosion. But the plane was quickly rocked by two more explosions, which brought the fuselage crashing to the tarmac.

China Airlines spokesman Sun Hung-wen said "the plane landed safely so we are still checking why there was a fire."

A statement on the airline's Web site said the plane "caught fire during taxi operations at Okinawa Airport."

Capt. Yu Chien-kuo, 48, has been flying 737-800s for the airline for six years, the statement said.

Initial reports from ground personnel said a fuel leak from the right engine could have led to the explosions, according to another Japanese Transport Ministry official, Fumio Yasukawa.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board sent two investigators to Japan to look into the fire, spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said in Washington.

China Airlines has a troubled safety record. One of its 747s crashed in 2002 as it flew from Taipei to Hong Kong, leading to 225 deaths. Accidents involving the airline killed about 450 people in the 1990s.

"We are prepared to do our best to get to the bottom of this incident," China Airlines president Zhao Guo-shi told reporters at the airport. "I apologize for the trouble we have caused our passengers."

The fire was extinguished after about an hour, leaving the aircraft sagging on its side, charred in the middle, with part of its roof burned away.

Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration head Chang Kuo-cheng said authorities ordered China Airlines and its subsidiary Mandarin Airlines to ground their 13 other Boeing 737-800s pending a thorough inspection.

Japanese aviation authorities also ordered an emergency inspection of all Boeing 737-800 planes owned by Japanese carriers, as well as some 737-700 models that have similar engines.

As of July 31, there were about 1,220 737-800s flying worldwide, with more than 1,000 of the aircraft on order.

Boeing has delivered more than 5,400 737s since the plane entered commercial service in 1968. Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx said he could not say exactly how many of the single-aisle jets are still flying, but noted that a "significant" number of older models have been retired.

Airlines started flying the 737-800 in 1998, about four years after Boeing won its first order for the plane.

The plane that exploded had CFM 56 engines, made by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aviation, a unit of General Electric Co., and France's Snecma, said Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx. All 737-800s are built with the same engine.

The Japan Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission requested technical assistance from Boeing, Proulx said. The Boeing investigator is expected in Japan by Wednesday.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board also sent in investigators.

Two passengers - a 7-year-old girl and a man in his 50s - were hospitalized because they did not feel well, but they were uninjured, said fire official Hiroki Shimabukuro. A ground engineer who was knocked off his feet by the blast was not hurt, the Transport Ministry said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2007-08-20 09:01:33
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2644 comments

iselin007 11:05:41 AM Sep 13 2007

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Sorry Goldberg but Chinese Cherry cars will never replace Driving Chinese women.

Pinglulu 12:27:04 PM Aug 30 2007

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The largest casino is in Macau, peoples republic of China. Soon Chinese made " Cherry " cars will be sold by Chrysler in the USA.

LeeSinfonian 09:06:20 AM Aug 30 2007

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PLEASE TAKE THIS STORY OFF THE HEADLINES.... AGAIN, NO ONE DIED... LET'S MOVE ON. THE DAMN THING JUST KEEPS SHOWING UP EVERYDAY AND IT'S THE FIRST NEWS REPORT ANYONE THAT COMES TO AOL SEES. THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!! IT'S OBVIOUS THAT NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THE PLANE EXPLODING SINCE ALL EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT IS HOW THE CHINESE ARE TRYING TO KILL OUR KIDS. ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS...U.S. GOVERNMENT, GOOD JOB AT USING SCARE TACTICS AND FEAR INSTALLATION TECHNIQUES TO TURN THE U.S. PEOPLE AGAINST YET ANOTHER COUNTRY IN LESS THAN 3 MONTHS... I GUESS WE'LL END UP AT WAR WITH THEM NEXT, AND PROBABLY HAVE THE FULL SUPPORT OF EVERY SOCCER MOM IN THE NATION BECAUSE THEY ARE AFRAID THE CHINESE ARE POISONING THEIR CHILDREN. GIVE ME AN F-ING BREAK!!!!!

bisbezy 10:53:52 PM Aug 26 2007

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The shelves are almost full of dog chews, treat, etc. Who will buy. Can't trust those bob headers! Who knows what the f****** will come up with next.

rumminmymouth 10:43:19 PM Aug 26 2007

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The Chinese are trying to kill our kids with poison toys.

rumminmymouth 10:42:00 PM Aug 26 2007

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Boycott chinese junk- it'll kill you!

rumminmymouth 10:41:26 PM Aug 26 2007

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Made in America, but maintained by the Chinese. Suprised it could even fly with all that lead-based paint they use!!

mthanhq 05:56:32 PM Aug 26 2007

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Al-Maliki IS A NOBODY AND HE WOULDN'T DARE VENTURE OUT OF THE SHIT HOLE CALLED THE "GREEN ZONE"?EVEN WITH EXTRA US? SS ARMED FORCES?S PROTECTIONS.

AS FAR AS THE IRAQIS ARE CONCERNED, AL-QAIDA IS GEORGE BUSH'S SS GANG OF PIRATES.

THE IRAQIS ARE UNITED AND DETERMINED NOT TO BE OPPRESSED AND ENSLAVED

HA HA

IN ORDER TO PERPETUATE THE EXISTENCE OF AL-QAIDA, BUSH AND CHENEY?S MAFIA ORGANIZTIONS ENDLESSLY DUMPS FEAR BASED PROPAGANDAS TO KEEP STUPID AMERIKKKANS LIVING IN A PARANOID STATE.

LISTEN TO GEORGE BUSH SPEAKING:

?MA NAM IZ MASS MURDERER F@#K HEAD GEORGE DUBYA BUSH. I AM A F@#KING...

LIAR...

TRAITOR...

TROOP-KILLER...

DOMESTIC ENEMY...

UNFIT FOR COMMAND...

AND UNWORTHY OF OBEDIENCE.?

HA HA

WAR BASED ON LIES IS CRIMINAL, THEREFORE, IT HAS ALREADY BEEN LOST

mthanhq 05:55:49 PM Aug 26 2007

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BOYCOTT US MADE PRODUCTS

INFERIOR BOEING 737 DESIGNED BY STUPID "CUTTING CORNERS" AMERICANS LED TO CHINESE JET FIRE.

HAD IT BEEN THE AMERICANS, NONE WOULD HAVE MADE IT OUT ALIVE.

WHY? BECAUSE AMERICANS ARE FAT, LETHARGIC, UGLY, STUPID, RACIST BABARIANS.

SEE HOW JESUS LOVE OTHER PEOPLE BUT HATE THE AMERICANS?

JESUS DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO SAVE THE TRAPPED US MINERS. IN FACT, EVEN RESCUERS WERE KILLED TOO.

MINDLESS US KILLER FANATICS RELENTLESSLY DROPPED BOMBS AND KILLED 250 CIVILIANS; THEN BLAMING IT ON "ETHNIC CLEANSING"

US ARMED FORCES = IMMORAL TERRORISTS = COWARDS = PIRATES = NAZIS = MURDERERS = ROBOTS = "FOOL AND TOOL" = CANNON FODDERS = HIRED GUNS = RAPISTS = PEDOPHILES = BRAINWASHED KILLERS

AMERIKKKAN SHEEPLE = SELFISH FUNCTIONAL ILLITERATE KNUCKLES DRAGGING BABOON PARASITIC SLAVES

"HIGH, MA NAM IS chEORGE bOOSH. WHEE ART NOMBUR 1. WHAI? BACOQST WHEE KANG ONELY KOUNQ WHUP TA 1.

MEESHION AKKOMPOLISHT!

BREENG IDT ONG!

HEIL KKKristianSS.

HEIL AmeriKKKa."

tIfFb707 04:00:48 PM Aug 26 2007

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mthanhq shut the hole in your mouth if you dont like this counrty go back to yours!! because we dont want you here if your going to disrecpect us

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