U.S. company joins search for China Airlines wreckage

Associated Press ^ | 14 June 2002 | AP

[Asmodeus]

TAIPEI, Taiwan - A U.S. company that specializes in underwater work arrived in Taiwan on Friday, joining the search for clues about why a China Airlines jet plunged into the Taiwan Strait last month, killing all 225 on board, an investigator said Friday.

Since the crash three weeks ago, the Taiwanese have been unable to recover the plane's "black boxes," or voice and flight data recorders. Strong tides and low visibility have hindered the search.

"Visibility has been so poor that divers can't even see their feet," chief investigator Kay Yong said.

The U.S. company that joined the search, Global Industries, brought a technical team from its Singapore office, along with equipment and divers, Yong said.

"We've already narrowed down their (black boxes) location to a 50-by-50 meter (165-by-165 feet) area," Yong said.

The boxes could be a crucial key to finding out why the Boeing 747-200 broke into four pieces on May 25 about 20 minutes into a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong.

Searchers must hurry to recover the black boxes because the batteries that power their beacon signals typically wear down after 30 days, Yong said. Searchers have nine days left, he added.

"One of the signals is as strong as ever but the other is getting weaker," he said.

Search teams have already located about 80 percent of the wreckage under 60 meters (200 feet) of water, but still most of it remains submerged, Yong said. Crews have recovered 118 bodies.

"The wreckage should be coming up fast," Yong said.

Global Industries has specialized in deep underwater work for nearly three decades, mainly building oil rigs and pipelines. The company's global headquarters is in Carlyss, Louisiana.

[Asmodeus]

In wake of deadly crash, China Airlines postpones issuing bonds
June 14, 2002
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan - China Airlines, Taiwan's largest carrier, has postponed issuing 4.5 billion Taiwan dollars (U.S. dlrs 132 million) in domestic convertible bonds because last month's deadly crash may have scared off potential investors, the company said Friday.

The carrier's stock price is seriously undervalued and the underwriter has said this may dissuade investors from participating in the bond issue, airline spokesman Roger Han said.

Chinatrust Securities Corp. is the lead underwriter for the deal. The carrier originally planned to issue the five-year bonds on July 1 to refinance long-term loans.

Han said China Airlines will reconsider the plan after its stock price returns to a more favorable level, which he wouldn't specify.

The China Airlines flight from Taipei to Hong Kong broke up high over the Taiwan Strait shortly after takeoff on May 25, killing all 225 people on board. Investigators still don't know why the Boeing 747-200 crashed.

The accident, the carrier's 10th crash in three decades, has sent the airline's stock price plummeting from 16.30 Taiwan dollars (U.S. cents 47) on the day before the accident to Friday's closing of 12.95 Taiwan dollars (U.S. cents 38).

Also on Friday, Han said that Hua Nan Commercial Bank has approved an aircraft purchase loan package for China Airlines.

Hua Nan has agreed in principle to lend 4.8 billion Taiwan dollars (U.S. dlrs 141 million) to China Airlines so it can buy a Boeing 747-400 freighter, to be delivered in September. The loan has a maturity of 12 years.

"We have decided to borrow from local lenders (instead of foreign lenders) because the banking system has enough cash to allow us to get better terms," Han said.