At the time, tropical storm Xangsan, which had caused devastation across the Philippines, was approaching Taiwan. Winds of up to 144kph and heavy rain were lashing the airport and causing poor visibility.
2. Confusion
The intended runway was near the one under repair and the two had almost identical identification numbers, thus, there might have been a chance of confusion.
3. Runway under repair not cordoned off
A barrier of concrete blocks had been erected instead, 1,000 metres down the runway at the beginning of the construction zone and marked with a light. Closing down the runway entirely would have created serious delays for planes lining up for departure.
4. Lack of ground radar
The control tower could not visually check if the plane was on the correct runway so they would not have known even if the plane was on the wrong runway.
5. Air safety compromised
In many cases, aircraft maintenance programs are being wound back, aircrew are being put under pressure to work longer hours and the latest safety technology is not used as a matter of course because of cost-cutting and intense rivalry between airlines.
~Akhil Vuputuri
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