CONFIDENTIAL

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02145429
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: March 9, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 21, 2020
• Case Number: F-2015-00256

Approved for Release: 2020/08/19 CO2145429
OFFICE OF VICE PRESIDENT/SECRETARYLEGAL COUNSEL
TRANSLATION NO. 0-2433
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CONF'
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� Petition No. DATE:
TO : Civil Aeronwatics Admintstration
FROM : Civil Air Transport Company limited
SUBJECT : CONFIDENTIAL
1. We are in receipt of a letter telegram, dated July 27, from the Communicatibhs
. .
47,7mmittee of the Legislative Yuan, instructing us to submit, under confidential
cover and in 500 mimeographed copies, all data we have, without concealment,
pertinent to the crash of our round-the-island plane on June 20. It was by your
Administrations order that this Company"s responsible personnel went to the
meetings of the Communications Committee of the Legislative Yuan as subordinateSy
to your Director to meet interpellation requirements. At the 8th meeting of
that Committee held on July 15, we found that the reports rendered by the
authorities concerned were. not ih complete agreement with the information and
data we had collected from accessible sources. For this reason, a reservation wa$
made by the Company, the primary purpose being to point out that in the Company's'.
opinion the conclusions made from the crash investigation were of doubtful
validity inasmuch as the true cause of the accident had not yet been found,. 10
feel that since our air transport,business is conducted under direct supervisiqn
of, and in all respects in compliance with the directions of,. your Administration, .
so that even on occasions when we address the Ministry of Communications we do so.,
only via your Administration and seldom direct, it does not seem proper that we
should communicate with the Legislative Yuan direct in response to the letter�
.
telegram from its Communications Committee. furthemore, we are concerned with
aileakage of information leading to possible misunderstandings. The mere:.
process of mimeograPhic reproduction, even though handled with discretion, gives
� rise to the likelihood of a.leakage. For these considerations, we have as yet
not complied with the Committee's instrUctions.
Distribution:
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1.741: I DENT I ALI
On the other hand, we have operated commercial air services in Taiwan for well
over 10 years without a previous accident, and have held a safety record known.
all over the world. This record has now been shattered by this most deplorable
disaster in which the aircraft was completely destroyed and over 50 passengers,
plus a number of experienced personnel, met their untimely death. The public
has been shocked by it and the Company has been the target of severe criticism
from all directions, while the Company itself has suffered, tangibly and
intangibly, not counting the loss of the aircraft, inestimable.damagee_from�
which it will never fully recover.: In view of the seriousness of this catas-
trophe, one which has been made the conspicuous object of nation-wide attention)
the responsibility for its occurrence is naturally the one question of topmost
importance. we feel that so long as any infurmation or data exist, every effort
should be made to conduct thorough investigations and careful research on them)
.and should continue unceasingly, until the responsibility can be established from
-truth to be uncovered from them. Failing this, we should never be at peace with
ourselves and our conscience would forever wail in shame at the mere thought of
:those who so tragically lost their lives. For these considerations, therefore,
'We feel at the same time at whatever knowledge we have and whatever data we
hold cannot be mutely withheld or lightly discarded.
2. Immediately after the occurrence of the accident, your Administration promptly
acted under the regulations HANDLING OF ACCIDENTS OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT, conducted
investigations, assisted by experts invited from abroad, and convened an
Investigation Board Meeting which worked day and night to accomplish its mission.
de were deeply impressed by the earnestness and sense of responsibility demonstrated
by these activities. Because the Company itself was the party most directly and
most deeply concerned with the subject under investigation, we on our part felt
Ourselves duty-bound to make extensive inquiries and to collect whatever infOTua-
tion it was in our power to obtain pertinent to the subject, to serve as reference
material for what it was worth. Notwithstanding our motivation and intent,' �
however, we did not feel that such information as we had collected and .compiled
offered positive proof of the real cause of the accident. For this reason, we. .
have maintained a complete silence and made no pubic announcements, and even at
the Communications Committee meetings of the Legislative Yuan) at which some
unrelated facts were reported by us in response to interpellations, we still
refrained from fully divulging all that we knew in order not to introduce contro-
versial issues. We further felt that, since Article No. 9 in the regulations
HANDLING OF ACCIDENT OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT clearly provides for the owner, or operator,
or agent of the aircraft, and flight crew and ground maintenance personnel con- �
cerned, to participate in the Investigation Board Meeting) this then was a proper
place and the proper_occasion for the Company to make a full presentation of the
facts in its pusSesSien, and there was no need to discuss the subject wi4-41 other
parties. However, when the Company) on being notified, sent 3 responsible delegates
to the Investigation Board Meeting convened on July 14) these delegates were
unexpectedly denied admission) and it was not until representations were made based
on the regulations HANDLING OF ACCIDENTS OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT, that only one was
permitted to attend. Having gained admission, he was then isolated from other
participants as if in the role of an observer only) and there was no opportunity
for him to fully express the Company's views as an active member of the Board.
The other two delegates waited in attendance without) and when they were successive-
ly called in for brief interrogations, it was only to respond to some cursory
questions raised at random, none of which had much bearing on the cause of the
accident under investigation. Thus the Company's delegates found no opportunity
to submit the information and data they had prepared and brought along to the
meeting, ,which to this day are still being kept undisclosed.
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3. According to universal practice, the one purpose of a post-crash investigation is
ta determine the true cause of the crash. However, in cases where everyone on
board has been killed leaving no survivors, investigation work is exceedingly
difficult, sometimes years of .research being spent without success. The investi-
gation work in this case has been divided, the part concerning the plane itself
being undertaken by your Administration jointly with experts called in, and the �
part concerning the guns found with wreckage being undertaken by the security
authorities. Official announcement by the Provincial Police Department appeared
in all the papers on July 14, which was summarized in four essential points as
follows (quoted from the China Daily News):
(1) The two .45 caliber pistols and the two English books which were
hollowed out to secrete them had been traced to Tseng Yang, one of
the passengers killed, who secretly carried them aboard.
(2) After careful examination, (i) it had been determined that neither
of the guns was loaded and neither showed traces of having been
fired; (ii) according to the coroners' findings, the body of Bengee
Lin had shown no indication of wounds from gunshot, explosion,
cutting, stabbing, or suffocation; (iii) the plane in question had
crashed after taking off from Taichung and approximately only one
minute after signing off from the Control Tower.
Although no facts had yet come to light to indicate any connection .
in Tseng Yang's action of secretly carrying two guns aboard with the
crash of the aircraft, the military authorities were still to be,
rtquested to thoroughly look into the motive behind Tseng's action.
(3)
(4)
As to whether the crash of this round-the-island scheduled plane
had been caused by mechanical malfunction,. an error in navigational
directions, weather conditions, overloading, or pilot error, these
� factors were awaiting thorough investigation br experts invited from
abroad by the Ministry of Communications, who had made it a subject
of special research with factual data to be ascertained.
Of the four points above, point (3) was evidently the most significant one, that
is to say, although no facts had yet come to light to indicate any connection in
Tseng Yang's action of secretly carrying two guns aboard with the crash of the
aircraft, the military authorities were still to be requested to thoroughly look
into the motive behind Tseng's action. This statement expressed a point of
doubt still to be taken into consideration, and not a point already determined
arbitrarily. This attitude indicated a serious and cautious approach and an
equitable and impartial process of reasoning which we highly appreciated and
esteemed.
4. The Chinese and foreign experts assigned by your Administration completed their
draft reports on the night of July 13 (the newspapers on the 14th carried a
Central News release, in which Mr. T. K. Chao, Chief of your Administration's
Flight Safety Division, � stated that the experts were still busily engaged in
writing their investigation reports on the afternoon of the 13th - China Daily
News). According to the distinct understanding of the Company's delegate �
present at the Investigation Board Meeting held on the 14th, no positive
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conclusions were arrived at at that meeting. However on the following morning,�
the Minister of Communications released a statement before the Communications
Committee of the Legislative Yuan, in which he gave the essential points in
summarized form concerning the crash of CATts aircraft B-908. The opening para-
graph of this statement was: "A report oh the autopsy of Captain Bengee Lints
body has been announced by the Taichung District Court on only 11. As to the
carriage of pistols by passenger Tseng Yang, the Taiwan Provincial Policy Depart-
ment officially made known its investigation findings on July 13. These reports
of the court and the Police Department have combined to adjudge the cause and
responsibility of the accident as to be not connected with security factors."
This wording plainly credited the security authorities with a statement they har'.
not made, carrying a meaning contradictory to that expressed by the security
authorities themselves. What th'e security authorities had said was that even '
though no evidence had been uncovered to show any direct connections between the
guns and the accident, this was no positive proof that no connections existed at
all, especially since Tseng Yang's motive for bringing the guns aboard was still
to be investigated. The position taken by the security authorities plainly showod
an open mind, fair and unbiased, and a determination to search for truth. This
worthy attitude had obviously been misinterpreted by our Minister of. Communicationn.
The Minister then went on to introduce a written statement entitled "SALIENT
POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT ON CAT B-908 (0-46) ACCIDENT", in which, after
citing in part the views of the experts, the following conclusion was given:
"Based on substantial wear and tear of the left control cable and on
the overspeeding of the left propeller, the Board deemed that normal...
time. maintenance for the aircraft was not attentively carried,outY
and that there was also indication of improper handling oz the part
of the pilot."
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This statement amounted to a direct pronouncement of a grave blunder committed by
Air Asia Company Limited, renowned for its professional excellence, in the dis- `
aorge.of their responsibility for the'maintenanoe of the aircraft, and at the
same time an obvious incompetence in emergency measures on the part of one of the
best pilots selected from those retired from the Chinese Air Force. �
In every field of endeavor, our Government has made tremendous progress since
its removal to Taiwan. The very fact that in 15 years of civil aviation there
has hitherto never been a fatal accidents- .this one being the very first,
is already a remarkable record, one of distinction not only in the nation it-0
self but in the world at large. .Even in Europe and America, where much valuable
experience has been gained from aircraft crash investigations, investigation
specialists, with all their experience behind them, have not infrequently spent
months and years on one crash without successfully reaching a conclusion. If
it is indeed possible for an Investigation Board organized in this country to
investigate its first air disaster in which the aircraft was completely broken
up and everybody on board was killed, to be able to ascertain the cause of the
crash and determine the responsibility for it in less than half a month's time
and to be able to foretell the date, then the standard of technical skill and
the high degree of competency in China have certainly established, another
record of excellence, setting an outstanding example for the world to look up
to and follow. We understand, however, that there were two experts who called
upon your Director after the announcement of the "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGA-
TION REPORT" to express their dissention in no uncertain terms. If this is the
case, then it would. appear that the
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(1) "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" was finalized aftur the foreign
experts had left the Investigation Board Meeting;
(2) The contents of the "SALIENT FOINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" did not corres-
pond with the reports submittt.4 by. the experts;
.
(3) Vis-a-vis the Company, a judgment was handed down in absentia, entirely on
an arbitrary basis, and without an opportunity given the absentee to produce
evidences or make representations in a lawful manner. Under these circum-
stances, such findings of the Board were patently unfair and ungrounded.
Perhaps the Investigation Board, a little too anxious to earn credit for
itself, was too hurried in its action to bring the matter to a close, and,
while pursuing this course hastily, took passages from the experts' reports
out of context, in the course of which even though there was no deliberate
act of distortion it is quite possible that matters were handled in such a
thoUghtless manner as to lead to a departure from true facts. This Company,
for the sake of its own reputation and for the sake of the nation's pres-
tige, now finds itself compelled to break its long-held silence.
5. There is a wide discrepancy between what is given in the "SALIENT POINTS OF
INVESTIGATION REPORT" and what is given in the reports then available of the
foreign specialists on the subject of maintenance, a fact demonstratable from
records. While. on the subject of pilot's handling, the specialists' reports did
not even mention any connection it might have had with the cause of the accident..
In point of fact, even passages within the "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT"
itself contained a number of contradictions which one finds hard to reconcile.
These discrepancies could not have escaped the notice of the Director had it not .
been the fact that the work of composing this report was done under great pressure,
late into the night of the 14th, for the purpose of rushing out a report to be
presented to the Legislative Yuan the next morning.
(1) The "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" stated "2. Mr. Pahl pointed
out that from an inspection made of all airframe*structural parts; there
was no evidence that the aircraft had any crack from metal exhaustion or any
crack that could lead to structural failure prior to crash, the burns and
damages on all airframe parts being all found as to have arisen from fire
upon impact with the ground." This statement serves to testify that as far
as the airframe was concerned everything was in order, there being
obviously no evidence to indicate poor maintenance.
(2) The "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" further stated: 113. USCAB
experts who tested on the control cables affirmed in a report that the cable
used for control of. right elevator trim tab, was broken upon impact with the
ground, not during flight, but that the cable used for control of left
elevator trim tab showed substantial wear and tear, although the breakage
was more probably also due to impact with ground. The majority board
opinion is that even if these cables became broken during flight prior to
crash, the crew should have encountered no particular difficulty in =-
trolling the plane in continued flight." However, it failed to point out
whether the substantial wear and tear referred to were caused by use fl
flying prior to the crash, or caused by abrasion in contact with another
part of the aircraft when it hit the ground. It IS arbitrary to use this
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as a basis for concluding that the normal time maintenance was not atten-.
tively carried out. Furthermore, since the experts have already assumed
that the breakage was more probably dt.e to impact with the ground and) at
the same time, asserted that the right control cable, without any evidence
of wear and tear, was also-broken on iMpact with the ground, then it
establishes the fact that there was no cause and effect relationship between
the wear and tear and the breakage. Moreover, evidence has since been found
by the Company to show that at the time of impact, when the aircraft was
broken into pieces, the left cable in question (and others) was pulled so
strongly that it was dragged through a part of the fuselage, actually cutting
the aluminum several inches deep. This finding amply explains the so-called
wear and tear and establishes the fact that the cable in question was intact
at the moment pfimpact and so could not logically be cited as relating to
accident cause. ..Besides this, even had this particular cable been faulty
it still could not have logically been pointed to as an accident cause.
The "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" goes on to state: 1'4. Dlr. �
Hallman who inspected the two engines stated in his report that the engines
had no obvious trouble, but that because the power unit for left propeller
was yet to be located from scene of crash, search for the power unit should
continue in order to enable further study and evaluation of condition of
flying for the very short moment just prior to crash . Mr. Hallman further
pointed out that the engine manifold gage readings were similar for both
engines and that blade butt gear damages sustained upon impact with ground
were located at approximately similar positions and for an approximately
similar number of gear teeth " These statements are consistent with
the actual statements contained in Mr. Hallman's report. They affirm (i).
that the revolutionary. speed of both the left and right engines and propb1-
lers were similar and (ii) that although the power unit (installed at the
protruding portion of the propeller for automatic regulation of blade angle,
and, thence, propeller and engine speed) for the left propeller has not been
found, there is direct evidence there was no verspeeding of the left
propeller. What followed under the same Point 4 is not only inconsistent.
with Mr. Hallman's reportbut in direct contradiction to the two affirmations
made earlier under the same Point 4. As regards the "difference in RPM of�
more than 1,0009, this was indicated by the tachometer, one of the many
instruments in the cockpit for crew reference. The tachometer records
engine speed, not propeller speed. Since the engines themselves have been
found to perform at similar speed, little reliance can be placed in
readings of the cockpit instrument which gives only indirect indication,
especially where this instrument already had its pointer detached and
sustained damage of its inner mechanism. The alleged propeller overspeeding
is therefore without basis and runs counter to direct evidence. Furthermore,
an overspeeding propeller,which.occurs most frequently during the far more
.crucial takeoff regime,is an entirely manageable phenomenr:Iwhich pilots are
'trained to handle and drilled on.. The danger of an overspeeding propeller
is not that it will materially Upset the aircraft performance but rather
that the propeller or its engine will be unable, to withstand the higher than
designed.for stresses generated by the higher rotational or. reciprocating
speeds involved and. so the propeller may fail and throw pieces through the
vitals of the aircraft or, becoming unbalanced, from loss of a part, wring
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itself or its engine from the aircraft, the engine may come apart or a
fire may start. Since none of these happened to B-908, further evidence
is offered against the theory that the left propeller overspeeded..
The aforesaid three paragraphs should afford ample evidence that the inves-
tigation work has not found any indication that maintenance of the aircraft
"was not attentively carried out." The alleged wear and tear of left control
cable and overspeeding of left propeller are not supported by facts, and
objective analysis has further indicated to the contrary. As to alleged
"indication of improper handling on the part of the pilot", such we find is
entirely beyond our comprehension. The pilots died with the crash and no
living person knows of what they actually did in the short moment just prior
to crash. Not a single word on improper handling by pilot was noted in
Points 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT." Our
personnel who attended the July 14 investigation board meeting heard no one
voicing any doubt on pilot performance. Thus, we are not aware if the so-
called "indications" originated from information beyond the known scope of
investigation. Bengee Lin was an experienced pilot. A graduate of Chinese,
Air Academy, he received advanced pilot and instrument training in the U. S.
and served as CU Captain and check pilot of the Far East Flying School in
Hong Kong, before joining the Company as copilot in 1950. He was promoted
to Reserve Captain in 1953 and to Captain in 1957. He had 14 years' service
with the Company and had been known as one of the best and most cautious
pilots among all Chinese and foreign pilot personnel. He had logged nearly
12,000 flying hours. Copilot M. H. Kung was likewise an experienced pilot.
A former CAF Captain, M. H. Kung had had 16 years service with the Company
and had logged over 13,000 flying hours, even more than Bengee Lin. Both
had maintained an excellent record and from their rich flying experience in
the long years of their air career within which they could hardly have
failed to encounter every kind of accidental occurrence, there is no cause
to doubt their proficiency in emergency procedures, particularly in C-46
type aircraft with which they were exceptionally familiar. There is yet no
evidence that B-908 developed any mechanical trodble. Assuming that a
control cable did break or a propeller did overspeed, either of the pilots
could have discovered and corrected the situation easily and without hesi-
tation. Their action would be almost automatic as if reaching to scratch
an itch or allay a pain on one's own body. We have every confidence that
they would be able to maintain flying, certainly nct ceinittint_ the plane to
descend and crash from an altitude of more than 1,000 feet over an interval
of 20 to 30 seconds without any attempt to effect an emergency landing or .
without reporting by radio an emergency. We therefore deem the alleged
improper handling on the pilot's part completely unfounded. For Bengee Lin
who had served the Company faithfully for more than ten years and had died
in the line of duty, the Company cannot do less than speak up to correct
any erroneous or grossly unjust judgmentlpassed on him posthUmously1which
he himself could not defend.
From the foregoing, the conclusions contained in Point 5 of the "SALIENT POINTS
OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" are obviously, groundless and illogical, and certainly
do not "represent the findings of Chinese and foreign experts arrived at pur-
suant to established procedure." The 'fact is the cause of the accident is yet
to be determined and the investigation work is not yet oomplete. Fortunately,
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"the official report will have to be compiled according to ICAO format, the
preparation of charts and the translation and printing of which will take some
time," and thus there is still opportunity to supplement and correct. We are
accordingly taking this opportunity to present all the data available to usiin
responding to the Legislative Yuan's'request for data, with the request that a
closer look be made of the reports submitted by foreign experts and a correction
statement be issued by you in. regard to the "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION
REPORT".
6. The "SALIENT POINTS OF INVESTIGATION REPORT" state under Point 1 that the Board
is unanimous in eliminating the following.factors as possible causes of the
accident:
(1) Weather;
(2) Air Vraffic control;
(3) Navigational aid;
(9 Age of plane or metal exhaustion of part of airframe structure;
(5 In-flight fire;
(6) Crew time in excess of prescribed limits;'
(7) Fuel.
The allegations under Point 5 have also been shown to be no cause of the accident.
Then, under such circumstances, is it:more probable that the accident could have
.arisen from the human factor? The most striking points in relation to the human
factor are the pistols found at crash site, the person who carried them and the.
motive behind such carriage, all of which, we understand, are still being actively
investigated.by the military ,authorities.
In the light of the Police Department's official announcement to pur'gtie the motive
behind Tseng Yang's taking pistols aboard, we do not propose to over-emphasize the
value of the information we have but wish to note the following which may be use-
ful as reference:
(1)
Tseng Yang's travel from Makung was made in the rloMpany of Wang Cheng-yi, an.
erstwhile colleague of Tseng's in the armed forces, who engaged himself in
business at Makung following discharge from military service. To travel in
company was by no means uncommon, but the strange thing was that Wang
apparently followed Tsengls.directions without having any say.of his awn.
'According to the local inhabitants, Wang left home in a great hurry on June 29,
obviously unprepared. His secretive behavior should be a point of interest.
Because the pistols were stolen and the books in which they were carefully
concealed were borrowed by Tseng, attention has been Concentrated on him only,
while little mention has been heard about Wang. Regardless of the purpose
of Meng's travel, Wang obviously was a party.to the scheme and therefore
listened to Tseng. and followed his every move.
(2) On June 17, Wang_bought from our Makung Office two Makung/Taipei one-way
tickets for the'June 18 flight and paid for the fare in full.. In the morn-
ing of June 18, Tseng changed reservation for the two seats to June 20.
By simple reasoning Wang should have known of the change. But the great
haste in which Wang left Makung on June 20 would indicate that Tseng merely
told Wang they .were not leaving on June 18 but did not mention the exact
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date of their trip. And there should be a reason behind Wang's unprepared-
ness and willingness to accommodate Tseng to this Extent.
(3) Tseng Yang, being in active military service, was entitled to free transpor-
tation by military transport.' Instead of availing himself of this privilege,
he elected to travel by commercial airline at the cost of NT$440.36, a sum
. by no means insignificant to a man of his station. Assuming that Wang who
was not entitled to military transport accommodation bought the tickets
in order to have a travel companion, the choice to buy one-way tickets at
the sacrifice of the usual discount for round trip passage would appear most
unusual in the light of the fact that Tseng was stationed in Makung and
Wang's business was also in Makung to which both must return.
Tseng travelled to Taipei on leave granted for a limited duration, at the end \
of which he was obligated to return to his duties at Makung. Yet the classi- \
fied books which he borrowed from the shipyard library a week before*the
trip were carefully hollowed out by him for the purpose of weapon concealment:
Furthermore, it is widely reported that 'prior to leaving Makung, he had
wound up all his personal affairs and given'away all his personal effects,
plainly indicating his determination not to return. As Tseng must undoubtedly
be aware) the stealing of pistols would sooner or later come to light and,
in view of the strict exit control and rigid coast guard being maintained
over Taiwan, he would be easily apprehended even if he should choose not to
return to Makung: .Yet his intention was obviously not for resale of the
books which had, upon being hollowed out, become worthless, or of the pistols,
which are not of any significant value. ..�
Seven of the bodies could not be identified at the crash scene and not until,
their removal to Taipei were the bodies of Tseng.Yang and Wang Cheng-yi
identified among them. No evidence is available as to whether Tseng had not
left or had been strapped to his seat. Records concerning the body of Wang �
show two points which distinguish him from all the other bodies. One is
that his injuries were much more serious and extensive than the others and,
unlike the other bodies, his torso and belly were split wide open, with
entrails hanging out. ,The other point is' that, while the bodies of all the .
other passengers and cabin attendants were scattered in a.certain pattern on
either side of the airplane, Wang's body was located in the cockpit area
near those of the pilot, and the co-pilot. Judging from the above, it is not.
improbable that about one minute after the airplane had bid farewell to
Control Tower, Wang, Tseng's travel companion, had made.his way into the
cockpit and stuck himself with the pilots until death.
(6) Both pistols were not found inside the books in which they had been concealed.-
One pistol' was found the second day. The other pistol was found on the fourth. .
day lying underneath an engine of the aircraft which was not lifted until �
Ju2..le 24, in the vicinity of certain cockpit items. The things that were
'found within the small space beneath the engine are listed here below:
(4)
(5)
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a'. the pilot's Engine Analyzer Handbook;
b. the copilot's personal notebook;
c. crew baggage tags bearing copilot Kung's name;
d. the flashlight belonging to the crew flight-kit;.
e. a ristol;
f. seat back of'either pilot or copilot
A portion of a shirt worn by a Chinese naval officer was found only four or
five feet from these things, in the area of Cockpit wreckage.
The pistol has been confirmed to have been carried by Tsang Yang, who was,
the only one in Chinese navy uniform among all the passengers, and there
should be no question as to whom the portion of the navy shirt belonged.
Since the pistols were 'not found in or with the hollowed out books and since
one in fact was found under an engine with items from the cockpit, ie it,
not entirely possible both pistols were being used at the time of the crash',.
at least one in the cockpit? Assuming that Tseng Yang and Wang Cheng-yi had
schemed to hijack the plane, then in addition to this scheme, they plainly.
had something else in mind. Two CAT flights departed Makung for Taipei on
June20. The earlier flight was a big four-engined pc-4 flying from Makung
to Taipei with only one stop at Tainan. The afternoon flight was 4 smaller,
slower twin-engined C-46 which had to stop at both Tainan and Taichung. It'
happened that the afternoon flight was heavily booked and our Makung Office
tried hard to persuade Tseng Yang to take the bigger DC-4, departing earlier,
which was more comfortable and faster. However, Tsang Yang refused the sug-
gestion and stated that he had to meet a friend at the Taichung airfield.
Inquiries made since the accident have revealed that there was no one meet-
ing him at the airfield, indicating that the statement he gave was a mere'
pretext to travel aboard the C-46. Could his real motive for .selecting the
C-46 be then that he was after -,:articular people?
(8) Sixteen passengers boarded at Taichung for Taipei on June 20. Except one
Mr. Chow doing small business in Keelung and h�s wife, the remaining 14
passengers were all people of or connected with the motion picture industry)
includingTato and Datin Loke Wan Tho. The itinerary of Loke Wan Tho was
widely'reported by.the press well in advance and it was an object of atten-
tion of hundreds of thousands.
a. The Film Festival Committee's program for the overseas visitors,
publicized as early as June 2) stated that June 20, the day after' the
final festival functions, was scheduled to be a free movement day on
which day excursions were planned for the visitors for Hualien and
Taichung, the choice being left to the visitors themselves.
b. Loke Wan Tho arrived in Taipei on June 12 and at a press interview
given immediately after landing he made known his wish to visit the
National Central Museum to realize his life-long desire to see the
rare collections of that museum.
c. On June 15 Loke Wan Tho announced publicly at breakfast his decision
to visit Taichung on the 20th.
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g.
-11-
d. On June 16 the Film Festival Committee sent word to the MPGI delegation
that no private plane was available for the Taichung excursion on the
20th.
On June 17 the MPGI delegation made their decision to maintain their
plan to visit Taichung on the 20th by utilizing CAT's scheduled services,
going down in the morning and coming back in the evening in good time
for Loke Wan Tho to play host at a farewell banquet at the Grand Hotel
that evening, and telephoned CAT for reservation of the round-trip
passage.
f. On June 19 the MPGI delegation duly took from the Company 11 round-trip
tickets Taipei/Taichung/Taipci for the 20th.
On June 20 the MPGI party headed by Loke Wan Tho went to Taichung by
CAT plane B-908 and boarded the same plane the same afternoon for return
to Taipei as scheduled.
A chronological chart hereunder shows more plainly the activities of tbke
Wan Tho and his party at the Taipei end correlated with those of Tseng Yang
and Wang Cheng-yi at the Makung end.
DATE At Taipei End At Makung End
June 2 Film Festival Program release announ-
cing, among other items, June 20th to
�be day for free movements. Excursions
to Taichung and Hualien offered free
of cost to visitors, choice to join
either left to visitors.
6. Wang Chih Po, 3rd ranking MPGI execu-
tive,-arrived TPE and confirmed Loke"
Wan Tho coming on 12th.
10. Advance news of Loke's scheduled
arrival on 12th appeared in press.
12. Loke Wan Tho arrived TPE with wife and
other Film Festival participants.
Press conference at airfield after
landing.
13..
15. Loke announced publicly in morning
his decision to visit Taichung on 20th.
16. Film Festival Committee advised MPGI
group no special plane available for
Taichung excursion on 20th.
Lieut. Tseng Yang took out. �
1st 'book from Shipyard
Library.
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�
(9)
17. Loke and MPGI
take Taichung
ttaVelling by
ing by CAT in
with CAT.
18.
- 12
members decided to
trip on 20th as planned,
CAT in aern; and return-
p.m. Reservations made
19. MPGI representative called at CAT
Booking Office to take 11 rOund-
trip tickets for 20th.
20; Loke Wan Tho and party proceeded to
Taichung as scheduled by CAT. B-908
in morning. Loke Wan The and party
boarded B-908 at Taichung in p.m.
for Taipei. as acheduled. -
Tseng took out 2nd book from
Library i Wang Cheng-yi
bought two CAT one-way tickets,
for self and Tseng Yang, book-
ing for 18th.
Tseng Yang changed CAT reserva-
tions for self and Wang Cheng-
yi from 18th to 20th, insisting
on C-46 vs DC-4, giving as rea-
son an appointment with friend.
at Taichung Airfield, now
proven false.
Tseng Yang and Wang Cheng-yi
boarded CAT B-908 for TPE in
morning.
Considered independently, the cr..erelation may well have been coincidental.
But in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this series of correlated
facts can perhaps affirm Tseng Yang had his eye on Loke Wan Tho and, there-
fore, should not be brushed aside lightly as pure coincidence.
.To intimidate any one.with pistol there is no need to shoot nor to load the'
gun. As is known to one and all, one must not kill the pilot when the plane
is airborne. Although no pilot himself, Tseng Yang was a student of radar
and might have realized that the propitious momnnt for action was after the
plane had cleared Tower Control but before it was high eneugh to be detected .
by ground radar. After' bidding farewell to Tower, B-908 was climbing and
just as it entered the scope of radar detection it suddenly made a pro-
nounced turn to the west, and a bit later descended rapidly and crashed. The
-experts have found no evidence. of any mechanical trouble, other logical
causes including pilot handling are not evident, and if it were not for the
armed Tseng Yang and Wang.Cheng-yi then what other explanation for the
crash could there be?
7. The security authorities have made known their determination to look into the motive
behind Tseng Yang's taking the pistols aboard. Our frank analysis.of the data
collected is offered in the hope that just one or two among the many points raised
may prove to be worthy of consideration. However, we have net submitted the data
directly to the Legislative Yuan's Communications Committee and are enclosing our
four summary reports on this case to you with the 'request that they be transmitted
to the Ministry of Communications. As to how we should assist in the thorough
investigation being conducted by the security authorities and respond to the
Communications Committee, we await the favor of your instructions.
CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT COMPANY LIMITED
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