TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A potential aviation safety incident involving Taiwan's flagship carrier has drawn scrutiny from authorities in two countries, officials confirmed Friday (June 13). A China Airlines (中華航空) passenger flight traveling from Taipei to Busan reportedly failed to follow air traffic control instructions during its landing approach at South Korea's Gimhae International Airport. The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (國家運輸安全調查委員會), the island's independent transportation accident investigation agency, acknowledged receiving formal notification about the incident but indicated that South Korean authorities would take primary jurisdiction over the investigation.
China Airlines has launched its own internal investigation to identify factors that led to the flight crew's deviation from tower instructions during the landing procedure. Meanwhile, Taiwanese safety officials have prepared technical resources and investigative personnel to support South Korea's Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (KARAIB), though formal collaboration awaits official communication from South Korean authorities. Lin Pei-da (林沛達), executive director of Taiwan's transportation safety board, indicated that should South Korean officials decline to conduct a full investigation, Taiwan's regulatory framework allows its investigators to assume primary responsibility for examining the incident involving the Taiwanese carrier.
Taiwanese aviation safety protocols normally empower the national transportation safety board to lead investigations into specific categories of runway incidents, including unauthorized landings on closed or occupied runways or improper use of designated landing strips. These regulatory frameworks, however, primarily govern incidents within Taiwan's airspace and at its airports. International aviation governance, specifically the International Civil Aviation Organization's Annex 13 protocols to which both Taiwan and South Korea adhere, establishes jurisdictional precedence that grants investigative authority to the country where an aviation incident occurs, explaining South Korea's primary role in the current case. ◼