TAIPEI: Defense authorities plan a general overhaul of a Fokker 50 VIP transport plane that began trailing smoke as it landed with Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou aboard Sunday. The incident happened at Taichung Chingchuangang Airport. The announcement of the overhaul was made yesterday by the deputy chief of defense, Chao Shih-chang.

Chao told reporters that the military took prompt emergency action after a small fire erupted in two of the main tires on the right landing gear of the aircraft, and that no one aboard the plane was hurt.

He said an initial check showed that the problem was caused by overheating of the brake rotors, and not because the plane was outdated.

The military has asked the government-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp to assess the problem and will carry out a comprehensive overhaul in the areas of personnel, maintenance and equipment to ensure safety, Chao added.

Before the plane took off, it had been thoroughly checked and had passed all the tests, according to Chao.

Su Wen-fu, an officer at the Air Force Command Headquarters responsible for supervision and inspection, said that an initial investigation has ruled out the possibility that the problem was caused by human or environmental factors.

Su said the plane took off at 1 pm from Songshan Air Base and landed on the runway at the Taichung airport at 1:28 pm when the fire was spotted and put out by ground crews.

He said that everyone aboard was safe and they all disembarked in accordance with standard procedure, adding that a special task force has been formed to conduct an investigation into the incident.

Ma was unaware of the situation during the landing but was informed later. He subsequently ordered the military to carry out a comprehensive check of the aircraft, Chao said.

At a skills competition award ceremony yesterday, when asked about the incident, Ma said that everything is usually OK after calm is maintained in an emergency.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/03/2009 page2)