The Los Angeles-bound SQ006 with 179 people on board exploded in a fireball at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in October 2000 after hitting construction equipment parked on a closed runway. It was the first fatal incident in the carrier's history.

The cabinet's Aviation Safety Council, the top investigator into the crash, said the final report would classify findings into "probable causes", "risks" and "other findings".

It had said earlier that the final report would be released on Friday.

Council officials said past reports used a variety of other more judgemental terminology, including "direct cause" and "contributing factors".

The changes were made "to further emphasise the importance that the purpose of the investigation report is to enhance aviation safety, and not to apportion blame and liability", the council said in a statement.

Local newspapers have said the council was caught between pressure from Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration, which runs the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, and Singapore's Ministry of Transport.

The crash puts a blemish on Singapore Airlines' previous clean safety record, after the pilot took off in a typhoon from the closed 05R after confirming to the tower he was on the open 05L runway.

However, the council said some facilities at the airport did not meet international standards, leading critics to blame the airport for misleading the pilot on to the wrong runway.

In a preliminary report, investigators ruled out problems with the Boeing 747-400 jet as the cause of the crash, but did not draw any conclusions, stopping short of blaming the airport facilities or the pilot's judgment call.

Taiwan media had reported that that unclear construction signs and inadequate lighting had previously misled other airlines to enter closed runways.

Singapore Airlines, which has accepted full responsibility for the crash, had been invited to comment on the final report, but would not be allowed to participate in the analysis, the council had said.

                                                            Home