TOKYO: Boeing and U.S. aviation experts arrived Wednesday to investigate the Taiwanese jet explosion and a suspected fuel leak, Japanese transport officials said.
The China Airlines Boeing 737-800 exploded in a fireball Monday seconds after all 157 passengers and eight crew evacuated safely onto the tarmac at Okinawa's Naha airport in southern Japan.
Investigators are focusing on a suspected fuel leak from one of the engines, based on observations reported by ground engineers that fuel was leaking from the right engine as the plane pulled into a parking spot after arriving from Taiwan.
"From the size and intensity of the fire, we may be looking at a very large fuel leak," said Hiromi Tsurumi, a spokesman with Japan's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission.
Five U.S. aviation officials, including experts from the aircraft maker Boeing Co., arrived in Naha to participate in the probe, which also involves Taiwanese and Japanese authorities.
The China Airlines Boeing 737-800 exploded in a fireball Monday seconds after all 157 passengers and eight crew evacuated safely onto the tarmac at Okinawa's Naha airport in southern Japan.
Investigators are focusing on a suspected fuel leak from one of the engines, based on observations reported by ground engineers that fuel was leaking from the right engine as the plane pulled into a parking spot after arriving from Taiwan.
"From the size and intensity of the fire, we may be looking at a very large fuel leak," said Hiromi Tsurumi, a spokesman with Japan's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission.
Five U.S. aviation officials, including experts from the aircraft maker Boeing Co., arrived in Naha to participate in the probe, which also involves Taiwanese and Japanese authorities.
