Cowardice and chaos anger jet survivors

Survivors say flight attendants on a Singapore Airlines jet that crashed in Taipei directed some passengers into a burning cabin then fled before everyone could be rescued.

Eighty-three people died two months ago when the Boeing 747 tried to take off from the wrong runway at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport and smashed into construction equipment, including a crane.

The runway had been closed for repairs.

Two New Zealanders survived. Wellington woman Tonia Joy injured her back escaping, and Jay Aaron Spack, an Aucklander now living in Western Australia, received minor injuries.

A report in the Weekend Australian said rescue attempts were hampered by the weather. The paper said an inflatable escape ramp was blown back into the crashed aircraft by an approaching typhoon.

It said some passengers were directed by crew into a burning cabin filled with toxic fumes, while fire-smothering foam was blown away by high winds.

Airport fire chief Tony Chang said the wind meant it took 40 minutes to extinguish the fire, instead of the usual 15.

The newspaper said some flight attendants failed to help passengers open emergency doors, fleeing the plane before all inside had been rescued.

Perth grandmother Helen Broadfoot said she was still haunted by the faces she saw before the disaster.

"Sitting here now, I can remember the faces clearly. I think I always will, especially the children. There were about six or so children I saw waiting to board the plane. Ididn't see any of them in hospital."

John Wiggans, an American aerospace executive in business class, said the emergency safety slide that would have allowed escape from the upper levels was shredded in the gales.

Passengers were instructed to move to the fume-filled lower levels.

"People were passing out because they were stuck on the stairs. People were being unintentionally directed to their deaths," Mr Wiggans said. "Every time I think about it I get emotional because people died because of a lot of stupid mistakes."

Yesterday, prosecutors investigating the crash delayed the scheduled release of the three pilots who survived. Singapore Airlines has admitted full responsibility for the crash but has rejected suggestions that the weather made takeoff unsafe.