Runway Lights Are a Focus of Crash Probe

Investigators said Monday that they are focusing on whether the lights were on at a runway mistakenly used by the Singapore Airlines flight that crashed, killing 82 people.

If both sides of the runway--which was filled with construction equipment--were illuminated, the pilot could have mistaken it for a clear airstrip, said Kay Yong, managing director of Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council and chief investigator.

Los Angeles-bound Flight 006, with 179 people aboard, tried to take off Oct. 31 during heavy rain and high wind brought by an approaching typhoon. The Boeing 747-400 rammed into the construction equipment, burst into flames and broke into three pieces.

Although the pilot told air traffic controllers that he thought he was on the correct runway, pilot error could not immediately be confirmed as the cause, Yong said.

Investigators were still interviewing the three cockpit crew members, cabin crew and other survivors, and the probe could take one to two years to complete.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines said that within two weeks, relatives of the crash victims would receive their formal compensation offers of $400,000, more than five times the amount required under international law.