The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has said that air traffic control did not deny TransAsia Airways flight 222’s request to use another runway for landing. The CAA made the comments on Wednesday in response to allegations made by a lawmaker and a magazine report saying that air traffic control’s decision caused the crash.
TransAsia Airways flight 222 crashed in the outlying Penghu Islands on Saturday, killing 48 and injuring 15. The plane went down during its second attempt at an emergency landing at Magong airport just hours after typhoon Matmo battered the area.
The CAA said that the captain requested to use a runway ordinarily reserved for military use. Air traffic control had to notify the military before it could grant permission to land. However, visibility at the airport improved while air traffic control waited for permission, so the captain decided that he would use the original runway for the landing. Air traffic control did not deny the captain’s request.
The CAA said that on the day of the crash, all flights used the runway reserved for commercial airlines. It added that the runway is equipped with VHF Omni Directional Radio Range (VOR), a standard navigation system used for commercial aviation.
Meanwhile, the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) has completed the examination of the two black boxes from the plane. It said the data will be made public as early as Aug. 1.