Just seen from The Straits Times website in Singapore (if it is in The Straits Times then it must be true....).
Here is the link (it will normally not hyperlink after 27 July 2002 because stories older than 1 week are archived):
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sto...32685,00.html?
For posterity, here it is:
JULY 19, 2002
SIA plane hits equipment while in Taipei airport
TAIPEI -- The wing of a Singapore Airlines jet hit a piece of equipment on Friday morning as the jet took an unauthorised turn while taxiing to a runway at Taipei's international airport, Taiwanese airport officials said.
The control tower informed the pilots, and they decided that it was not serious enough to stop the Singapore-bound flight, airport police said. The plane landed safely in Singapore.
The minor incident attracted wide attention because when Singapore Airlines previously used the wrong runway in Taipei for a flight to Los Angeles two years ago, the plane smashed into construction equipment and debris, killing 83 people.
Taiwanese officials reported the incident to Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, which is still investigating it and would not comment.
An SIA spokesman told The Straits Times later on Friday that the Taiwanese air traffic control had told the captain of the flight -- 15 minutes after it had left the Chiang Kai Shek Airport -- that it believed that the wing of the aircraft had made contact with two tailstands while it was taxiing towards the runway.
But after some inflight checks, the captain found no abnormalities with the aircraft's performance and decided to continue to Singapore.
On arrival in Singapore, the aircraft was inspected, and minor damage to a wing panel was found.
The SIA spokesman added that the flight crew were being interviewed by SIA Flight Operations management and the investigators of Singapore's Ministry of Transport, to find out how the incident occurred.
Among the issues to be discussed is the route the aircraft took while taxiing.
Singapore Airlines has a reputation for being one of the world's safest carriers. The Taipei crash in October 2000 was its first fatal crash in about three decades of service. -- AP
Copyright @ 2002 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.