I'm afraid I must agree with WallyBB.
The instances of Clear Air Turbulence (CAT) in the tropics, which are strong enough to injure so many people, are very rare indeed. Such turbulence is normally restricted to jet-stream activity, which is almost unheard of in the tropics. China Airlines want us to believe that they are the only ones to find such turbulence over these very busy routes flown by many other airlines…. and twice in just one month (see news reports of similar event on a 744 flight to Bali just weeks ago).
These events are what safety managers call “red flags”. They are often indicators of an immature, or completely missing, safety culture. Why would crews with ample experience fly through the top of CB’s? (the only rational explanation for so many injuries). Why so soon after a similar event on the same fleet?
From all reports, management have actively encouraged the departure of expats from this airline over the past couple of years (the only airline to reduce wages and conditions, in real terms, while all other airlines do the opposite). While expats are not the panacea for all the ills of an airline, the bulk at CAL brought with them the traits of a mature safety culture. The loss of these skills can only erode any move towards building such a culture at CAL. CRM training can foster these skills, but it is management processes and policies that allow them to be engineeed into a safety culture.
I can understand the crews of these two flights blaming (highly unlikely) CAT. The lack of a Just Culture at CAL (another reason for the lack of a safety culture) would spell the end of their careers. With management punishing its captains for any decision made in flight which contravenes the way management think, the results become obvious – avoid decisions and/or hide bad ones.
Very sad to see an airline, with the resources and potential to be a "jewel in the crown" of the Asian aviation sector, wallow at the other end of the spectrum and injure 62 passengers (30 on the Bali flight and 32 on the Bangkok flight – according to news reports) who thought they bought a ticket on an airline that has recovered from the days when (as WalyyBB highlights) they were killing pax, not just injuring them.
Very sad indeed.
