Emotions also ran high in Singapore, where a distraught relative burst into a nationally televised Singapore Airlines news conference to denounce the airline, forcing the briefing to end.
No new evidence or findings emerged Thursday morning about what may have caused the Boeing 747-400 to burst into flames Tuesday while taking off for Los Angeles as a typhoon approached Taipei, Taiwan's capital.
The accident killed 79 people, most of them Americans or Taiwanese.
Officials began analyzing the plane's "black boxes," or flight data and voice cockpit recorders.
Survivors have said they felt Flight SQ006 hit something as the plane barreled down the runway. But early speculation also pointed to the gusts of wind and the torrential rains that were lashing the airport at the time.
At the news conference in Singapore, Tan Yin Leong said he learned of his brother's death in media reports but that the airline would not give him any information.
"Please tell the press the true story," Tan pleaded to Rick Clements, the airline's vice president for public affairs. "Don't hide anymore!"
At first, a security agent tried to lead Tan out of the room, but Clements insisted he be allowed to stay.
Looking exhausted, Tan gasped for breath as he spoke for several minutes in front of TV cameras and reporters. His tearful daughter, Natali, stood behind him.
When Tan finished speaking, Clements put his arm around him and ended the news conference, saying: "That was obviously a very distressing moment for all of us, especially for that poor gentleman who lost his brother."
Tan Yip Thong was among the passengers on Flight SQ006 listed as either dead or unaccounted for.
A similar outburst by the victim's sister-in-law, Chua Geok Hong, ended a televised news conference early Thursday in Taipei by the chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines, Cheong Choong Kong.
Some relatives of those who died have blamed the pilot, Capt. C.K. Foong for the accident.
But Singapore Airlines _ which has not had a major accident in 28 years of operation _ defended Foong's decision, saying conditions were safe enough that other planes were landing and taking off then, too.
Taiwanese aviation official Billy K.C. Chang said that visibility levels and winds were well within established limits for takeoffs.
In general, the control tower in Taipei monitors wind speed and direction, visibility, air traffic and other factors before authorizing takeoffs, especially during storms such as typhoons.
It is then up to the pilot to decide whether to go ahead with the takeoff or to abort it if unexpected problems develop on the runway.
As officials from Singapore, Taiwan and the United States opened their investigation into the crash, families identified the bodies of the victims, many of which were badly burned.
Most of the corpses were stored in body bags in a vacant terminal at the Chiang Kai-shek airport. Lined up in neat rows, the 70 or so bodies were laid next to caskets of honey pine and dark cherry wood.
On Thursday, as Taiwanese guards stood at attention near the caskets, dozens of local Buddhists walked around them, chanting and ringing bells rhythmically in a ceremony to honor the dead.
One woman who entered the hall to examine the bodies dropped to her knees at the end of a casket, sobbing very hard as she appeared to recognize its corpse.
She lowered her head to rest it on the wooden lid of the coffin. Relatives standing nearby patted her on the back, then held her hand as they led or out of the room.
Outside, a dozen Christians from the Chinese Christian Relief Association sang to the music of a solo guitarist.
"Today many of our church members will walk together to mark this accident, to worship and praise our lord," said preacher Chao Kao-Ping.
Some of the relatives wailed loudly and others covered their faces with their coats to shield themselves as they walked past television crews and photographers while entering the terminal.
As reporters asked questions, most of the relatives walked by without answering. Often, the booming sound of jetliners taking off and landing nearby was loud enough to drown everyone out.
In addition to the 79 people who died in the accident, 40 were hospitalized and 58 suffered minor injuries or escaped unhurt and two remained unaccounted for, said Taiwan civil aviation officials.
Forty-seven of those aboard were Americans, and on Wednesday U.S. President Bill Clinton offered condolences to people who lost family members and friends in the crash.
"It's too early to know the cause of the accident, but the United States is helping Taiwan authorities to find the answers," Clinton said in Washington.
On Thursday, 10 American relatives arrived in Taipei on a Malaysian flight. Fifty-five more Americans were to arrive later aboard a Singapore Airlines plane, airline spokesman James Boyd said.
On Wednesday, relatives of victims from other countries began arriving in Taipei from Singapore and New Zealand.
On the Net:
http://www.singaporeair.com
(AP)
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