The tail second of the crashed 747-400 lies on runway 05R at Chang Kai Shek International Airport

The Singapore Airlines jumbo jet that crashed on takeoff from Taipei's main airport Tuesday night, killing at least 80 people on board, apparently slammed into construction equipment parked on a runway closed to air traffic, Taiwanese air safety officials probing the disaster said today.

With the inquiry just beginning, the officials were unable to say if the equipment was the "object" that the jet's pilot reported hitting during the nighttime takeoff in a windy rainstorm, or whether the plane struck the equipment upon falling back to the ground after just a few seconds in the air.

As investigators continued to pore over burned-out wreckage at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, the airline listed 23 Americans among the dead. The plane's voice and flight data recorders were recovered, and U.S. aircraft specialists were headed to Taipei to assist in the probe.

Top Taiwan air safety officials said they were looking at the possibility that the Boeing 747-400's pilot, veteran Malaysian captain Chee Kong Foong, may have inadvertently tried to take off from a runway that was closed for repairs. In that scenario, equipment lying in the plane's path might have been obscured by rain and darkness.

Chou Kuang-tsan of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, which investigates accidents, told reporters in Taipei that "the assumption could not be ruled out" that Foong sent the jet barreling down the closed runway by mistake.

　

(Reuters)

Singapore Airlines spokesman Rick Clements dismissed suggestions that pilot error played a role in the tragedy as "a lot of rumors," according to reports from Singapore.

Aviation Safety Council authorities said today that the investigation into the crash, which occurred at 11:18 p.m. as Flight SQ006 attempted to depart for Los Angeles ahead of an approaching typhoon, has just begun and may not yield a definitive explanation for months. The flight originated in Singapore.

Briefing reporters in Singapore, Clements said Foong "saw an object on the runway and he tried to take off to avoid the object, and he hit the object," the Associated Press reported. Clements would not say what the plane might have struck.

Along with his two Singaporean first officers, Foong escaped from the fiery wreckage unharmed. All told, 99 people survived the crash. Eighty were confirmed dead by the airline, including four crew members.

Chiang Kai-shek airport has three main runways, one of which was closed for maintenance at the time of the crash. The plane's wreckage was strewn across the closed runway, along with the construction equipment, creating speculation among airline industry experts in Taiwan that either the pilot had erred or a sudden gust had blown the giant jet over to the closed runway as it tried to take off.

Clements said debris could have been scattered to adjacent runways by the force of the impact and did not mean the pilot had used the closed runway.

Taiwan's TVBS television broadcast footage of what appeared to be a badly damaged hydraulic shovel or crane on the closed runway. An Aviation Safety Council official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said investigators believed that the aircraft had collided with the machinery. But he said it remained unclear whether that collision was the cause of the crash or occurred after the aircraft was slammed back to the runway by some other force.

Taiwanese safety officials said recordings of control tower messages confirm that Foong--who has more than 11,200 hours of flying experience--had received and acknowledged proper instructions on which runway to use from the tower.

　

A Singapore Airlines 747-400, in the airline's special "Tropical" paint scheme, taxis at Singapore Changi Airport. The aircraft involved in yesterday's accident was one of two planes painted in these special colors (9V-SPK). (Photo: Michael Leung)

But they said the conversations left unclear whether the pilot had veered unknowingly onto the wrong runway or had been blown off course. "I can confirm that the pilot correctly repeated instructions from the tower," an official said. "But that's all we know, that he correctly repeated the words."

Several survivors of the crash have described sharp, sudden blows to the underside of the aircraft. "It felt like the jolt was right underneath me," said John Diaz, an American seated in business class in the upper deck at the front of the plane, in an interview with CNN. The first impact "was followed by another jolt," he said. "The plane started to break apart right underneath me."

Officials from Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said they have tentatively ruled out bad weather as a cause of the crash. Despite heavy rain and fierce winds at the time of takeoff, the typhoon moving toward Taiwan had not yet reached the airport, they said.

Visibility was at least 600 yards at the time of Flight SQ006's departure and remained within internationally accepted flight safety standards throughout the day, officials said. Normally, the airport will close only if visibility drops below 220 yards.

The typhoon pounded Taiwan as it gained full force this morning, killing 40 people and triggering flash floods and mudslides around the island. Forecasters said late today that the storm, which hit the island with 75 mph winds that gusted to 95 mph, was finally headed out to sea.

The ferocity of the storm thwarted an attempt by Singapore Airlines to fly relatives of the victims and airline support staff to Taipei. The plane had to be diverted to Hong Kong and a second flight, scheduled to depart from Singapore's Changi Airport, was postponed.

Singapore Airlines announced that it will make an immediate payment of $25,000 to each of the families of the passengers and crew.

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu visited the airport today to meet with survivors. Family members and relatives, many of them overcome with grief, were attempting to identify remains of crash victims in a large room.

Singapore Airlines said the flight was carrying 55 passengers from Taiwan, 47 from the United States, 11 each from Singapore and India, 8 from Malaysia, 5 from Indonesia, 4 each from Mexico and Britain, 2 each from Thailand, New Zealand and Vietnam, and 1 each from Australia, Canada, Cambodia, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, Ireland and Spain's Canary Islands.

Seventeen of the crew members were from Singapore, and two were from Taiwan.

Singapore Airlines has long enjoyed one of the best safety records in the industry. Chairman Michael Fam expressed regret at the accident, but said he did not believe it would tarnish the carrier's long-term reputation.

"We do not expect this to set the company back at all," Fam said. "It's an unfortunate accident. I don't think it should affect the confidence of passengers."