China Airlines punishes its "Alaska taxiway" pilots
Associated Press reports(19/8):
"After months of investigation, authorities on Monday ordered three China Airlines pilots to be grounded for mistakenly taking off from a taxiway instead of the runway at an airport in Alaska.
A China Airlines Airbus 340 carrying about 250 passengers and crew took off from a taxiway in the wrong direction at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in January.
The airplane's wheels scraped a snow berm while lifting off at the end of the taxiway. Air traffic controllers said they didn't try to stop the aircraft because they feared it was going too fast.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration has ordered the pilot and the captain grounded for eight months and the co-pilot seven months for the error, said director Billy Chang.
China Airlines, Taiwan's largest airline, had suspended the pilots from flying since the incident pending results of the investigation, officials said.
The airline has also ordered all its pilots to reconfirm with controllers that they are on the right runway before taking off, they said."