There was one accident last August, when a plane flipped upon landing in Hong Kong. But a preliminary investigation indicates that typhoon-force winds, not pilot error, was the main cause. The new leadership needs to move swiftly on other issues. The foundation's Kuomintang-dominated board balked. With the KMT out of the picture, says Hong Kong-based aviation consultant Jim Eckes, it is likely that a sale may finally happen.
Safety comes first, though.
CAL's problems, Kupferschmied told Asiaweek, were caused mainly by an intransigent corporate culture rooted in military heroism and risk-taking. The Kuomintang, which fled mainland China after the communist victory there in 1949, created the airline for its aviation veterans. Founded in 1959 with 26 air force officers and staff, CAL got its start as a covert flight operative for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The Vietnam War was starting and the Americans needed proxies to counter the communists in Indochina. One of the aviators was CAL chairman Lee, who decades later would break with the Kuomintang to support Chen.