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4. The airport was immediately blocked off and rescue teams went immediately into action. Each team members wore a different coloured headband according to his duty (fire fighting, passenger rescue, medical evacuation etc). Servicemen from nearby were also involved.
5.
The American Consulate arranged (without asking Boeing) for various US media people to base themselves in the Boeing offices in the Airport Hotel. Several misquoted the Boeing representative, who then apologised to CAAC Guangzhou directors. They never criticised him in any way. Both the Boeing rep and Cooper thought much of the western media's comments almost libellous.
6.
Comment by Cooper: CAAC remained calm throughout. The worst aspect of their handling, as might be expected in a communist country, was the press. By not providing a decent briefing they ensured for themselves accusations of callousness, incompetence and cover up. Had the accident been in Hong Kong and the hijacked aircraft sliced off onto the apron, similar if not worse damage would have been done. (Cooper did not, however, know what CAAC's standing instructions on emergency arrivals were, whether this included evacuation of all aircraft on the ramp and how this compared with other airports.) Cooper said CAAC colleagues had told him that it was the aircraft not the pilot which had been hijacked previously, but he had not heard whose decision it was to land at Guangzhou.
7.
The day after the crash Martin Davidson (British Council representative for Southern China) was told by Yunnan Foreign Affairs office people in Kunming that it was in fact the third CAAC aircraft hijacked from Xiamen this year. This only emphasises the importance of Taiwan's announcement not to give asylum to hijackers. Presumably South Korean policy is now the same, although I have seen no announcement of this. It would certainly do no harm if China's non communist neighbours jointly redetermined, with maximum publicity in Southern China, such a policy against hijackers. At the very least this would help protect other airlines like Dragonair who operate frequently into places like Xiamen.
yours
Att
CC
Richard Graham Trade Commissioner
S Bradley Esq, DPA, HGK S Riordan Esq, Peking
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Every effort is made to ensure that the information given herein is accurate, but no legal responsibility is accepted for any errors, omissions or misleading statements in that information caused by negligence or otherwise and no responsibility is accepted in regard to the standing of any firms,
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