TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) opened an investigation into a hard landing made by a Starlux Airlines aircraft during Typhoon Kong-rey last week.
At 5:30 on Oct. 31, Starlux Airlines Flight JX-871 arriving from Naha Airport in Okinawa attempted to land at Taoyuan Airport amid powerful typhoon gusts. A video of the incident showed the plane swaying from side to side, touching down with its tires, bouncing back up, and clipping the runway with its left wing tip.
The jet's nose pitched upwards as it accelerated and went airborne again. After the unsuccessful first landing attempt, the pilot executed a go-around and landed safely at 6:03 p.m., per New-Reporter.com.
During a meeting of the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee on Tuesday (Nov. 5), Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) asked how airlines assess flight risk and limitations based on weather reports during typhoons. The legislator also questioned how airlines balance airport operations and flight safety demands when deciding to open or close the airport, per UDN.
CAA Director-General Ho Shu-ping (何淑萍) said all airlines are required to take a conservative approach to dispatching flights during bad weather. Following the recent incident, Ho said the CAA would reassess the criteria for dispatching flights during inclement weather, such as wind speed and visibility.
Ho said that while there are standards for tower shutdowns, the most critical factor remains the airlines' dispatching decisions. During the previous two typhoons, the airlines adhered to conservative dispatching, but with Typhoon Kong-rey, they did not.
Ho said every flight will be reviewed, and dispatch principles will be established for the operators. Ho added that crew training would be reinforced.
Lee said Starlux Airlines also experienced hard landings in June and September. With the situation arising again in October, Lee suggested a stricter review is necessary.
Ho acknowledged the previous hard landing incidents and said crew members had been reminded to remain vigilant. Ho said the CAA is investigating the most recent incident, and if any regulations are violated, the airline will be penalized, per SET News.
In a statement on Monday, Starlux Airlines said that when Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall, it complied with dispatch operating regulations and conducted flight takeoff and landing planning, per NOWNews. The airline said that on Oct. 31, there were unexpected strong wind gusts that affected a few flights during landing.
However, pilots responded according to standard operating procedures, the airline said. All flights that day landed safely, with only seven flights being diverted to other international airports.
Starlux Airlines emphasized its operations comply with regulations. Despite challenging weather conditions, it said it prioritizes flight safety and will implement appropriate measures, cooperating with directives from the CAA.
