TransAsia plane lifted from river; 31 confirmed dead

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TransAsia plane lifted from river; 31 confirmed dead

TransAsia Airways passenger flight clips bridge and taxi before hitting the water; 12 people remain missing

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 04 February, 2015, 11:55am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 1:52am

Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]

Shocked survivors climb out of the wreckage of the plane after it crashed in Taiwan's Keelung River. Photo: Screengrab

Rescuers continued to search for the missing people from the TransAsia Airways flight that clipped a bridge shortly after take-off and crashed into a river in Taipei yesterday morning, killing at least 31 people.

Using a massive crane, rescuers had last night pulled the three pieces of Flight GE235 from the Keelung River, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. The fuselage and tail were brought to shore a little after 8pm, and the nose was lifted just after midnight, according to Taipei City Fire Department officials. The bodies of the pilot, co-pilot and a crew member were found in the water shortly later and two other passengers were discovered half a kilometre away in the river.

Twelve people remained missing and 15 survivors were being treated in hospital.

Civil aviation authorities ordered the island’s 22 ATR-72 aircrafts grounded for safety checks, including six owned by TransAsia.

A total of 53 passengers, including four children, and five crew members were on board the ATR 72-600 propeller aircraft when it departed Taipei's Songshan Airport at 10.52am bound for Quemoy.

The air tower lost contact at around 10.53am, Lin Chih-ming, director of the Civil Aeronautics Administration, told a press conference. A dashboard cam inside a car later caught the plane flying on its side as it clipped the bridge, before crashing at 10.56 am.

Six of the 31 mainland passengers aboard were dead, Xinhua reported. Many were from the southeastern city of Xiamen on a six-day tour to Taiwan by way of Quemoy, a former defence outpost of Taiwan.

One Taiwanese passenger was a Hong Kong identity card holder, the Immigration Department confirmed. A spokesman was unable to say whether he was among the survivors.

Liao Chin-hui, head of the Aviation Development Foundation, said the pilot apparently did his best to avoid hitting high-rise buildings, an industrial park and a residential area when he managed to fly along the Keelung River before slightly brushing the elevated highway.

"The way he flew the plane showed that the pilot had tried hard to avoid those structures. He did the best he could," Liao said.

President Xi Jinping called for measures to take care of the affected families, while Premier Li Keqiang urged stepped-up communication between mainland and Taiwan authorities.

The State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office had activated an emergency mechanism, and would dispatch a team to Taiwan.

The Aviation Safety Council said divers had retrieved the black box, "We are still investigating the cause of the accident," said a council official.

The emergency task force set up by authorities in Taipei had sought help from the military to dispatch two amphibious bridging and ferrying systems to aid the rescue work.

Watch: Dozens killed after TransAsia plane crashes in Taiwan


It was the second deadly crash in seven months for TransAsia, with the same plane model crashing into the offshore tourist island of Penghu in July, killing 48 people. The airline's CEO Peter Chen led company officials in making a deep bow of apology to the public and the victims' families.

Video footage showed the plane brushed a taxi on the elevated highway. The trunk of the taxi was smashed with its windshield broken into pieces. Both the driver and a passenger narrowly escaped the impact, and were sent to hospital for treatment of slight injuries.

The taxi hit by TransAsia Airways Flight GE235.

 

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TransAsia Airways faces tough questions

Intense scrutiny ahead for TransAsia Airways as it comes to terms with second fatal incident in seven months involving an ATR-72 aircraft

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 3:22am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 3:22am

Angela Meng and Reuters

Rescuers pull a passenger from Flight GE235. Photo: Reuters

Safety procedures at TransAsia Airways are likely to face intense scrutiny following the crash of Flight GE235 - the company's second fatal incident in seven months, and its fourth involving an ATR-72 aircraft since 1995.

Industry data suggests that yesterday's crash, in which at least 26 people were killed, was the sixth major crash involving the company since 1995.

Flight GE235, an ATR 72-600 with 58 passengers and crew on board, crashed into a river in northern Taiwan shortly after taking off from Taipei's Songshan airport. The death toll could still rise.

An injured passenger is escorted by emergency personnel. Photo: AFP

The crash came just under seven months after the fatal crash of another TransAsia Airways ATR-72, which came down on Penghu Island last year.

Industry consultancy Flightglobal Ascend said there had been four further major incidents in the airline's history, two fatal.

In December 2012, an ATR 72-200 freighter crashed en route to Macau from Taipei, killing both crew members. In 1995, an ATR 72-200 crashed into a hill near Songshan, killing all four crew.

In 2003, an Airbus A321 hit a vehicle that had strayed onto the runway while the plane was landing. A year later, an Airbus A320 over-ran the runway while landing at Songshan. There were no fatalities in the Airbus incidents.

Investigations into the latest disaster were likely to focus on cockpit procedures and maintenance issues at the airline, said Greg Waldron, Asia Managing Editor at Flightglobal.

"Coming so soon after July's crash, the airline could come under intense scrutiny by regulators, not to mention the impact this will have on public perceptions of the carrier," he added.

The airline operates about 10 ATR-72 aircraft. Taiwanese media are questioning whether the model, a twin-engine turboprop short-haul regional airliner, is safe. The aircraft carrying Flight GE235 was only 10 months old.

The plane's 'black box' has been recovered. Photo: CNA

The plane crashed into a river in Keelung at about 10.50 am; it had been heading to Quemoy Shangyi-Airport in Fujian province, but FlightRadar24.com said the aircraft had tried to turn back just three minutes into the flight when it crashed. The cause of the tragedy is not yet known.

Last July TransAsia Airways Flight GE222, travelling from Kaohsiung to Magong, crashed on Penghu Island in rainy conditions, killing 48 people. The aircraft - also an ATR-72 - had began circling for reasons unknown, before losing height and hitting treetops about 50 metres north of the runway. It crashed into buildings next to the airport.

A preliminary investigation said its pilots were unaware that the plane had deviated from its flight path by four degrees.

Share prices in TransAsia Airways plunged almost seven per cent yesterday as its safety record once again came under scrutiny.

 

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Relatives lash out at 'slow response of airline' after Taipei aircraft crash

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 3:22am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 3:22am

Minnie Chan, Andrea Chen and Lawrence Chung

A family member of a passenger from the mainland China asks for information at a travel agency in Xiamen. Photo: Xinhua

Anxious relatives desperate to find out the fate of loved ones yesterday complained about the slow response from the airline.

In Taiwan, an angry Hsu Kuo-ping, father of a 20-year-old university student, shouted at TransAsia Airways officials in Quemoy who failed to help him find out whether his son was among the survivors, according to CTI Cable Television.

"We are not third-class nationals ... how could they behave like that," said Hsu, adding the airline even tried to stop them from speaking to reporters.

The younger Hsu was later found among the 15 injured named by the authorities.

More than a dozen passengers and crew remained unaccounted for last night.

Only several of the dead had been named last night.

Meanwhile, the brother of Cheng Yen-ling said he was still waiting for information more than seven hours after arriving at the airport.

All the airline did was gather the relatives together but there was little transparency in the way it handled the crisis, he told Taiwan's Eastern Television, holding back tears.

He added that he would never forgive the airline if it turned out that the crash was caused by human error.

Authorities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait said they would establish joint crisis management for relatives and victims. Similar arrangements had been made in the past for accidents involving mainland tourists.

Taiwan authorities confirmed that 31 of the 58 passengers on board were mainlanders. They had joined two tour groups organised by Xiamen Airlines International Travel Service and Xiamen Tourism Group International Travel Service.

Xiamen travel authorities said they had arranged for some of the relatives of the mainland passengers to head to Quemoy by boat last night, according to the Weibo account of the Xiamen Daily. The other relatives would take a flight to Taipei today.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said it would assist the mainland relatives, while lawyers from Taiwan's Legal Aid Foundation said they would help the mainland relatives seek compensation.

Wang Qinghuo, a tour guide for Xiamen Airlines travel agency, was confirmed dead. He had planned to marry this Sunday, the Strait Metropolis Daily, which is based in Fujian province, reported.

Wang Zhangsheng, 38, another mainland tourist confirmed dead, took his whole family on a six-day Taiwan tour as he had to work during the Spring Festival holiday at a shipping company, a relative told the Strait Metropolis Daily. Wang's son, nine, his wife and father-in-law were still missing last night.

Two people in a taxi were slightly injured when the flyover they were on was clipped by the plane as it crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei's Nangang District.

"It's terrifying! I saw the aircraft flying straight towards me, and then I felt I was about to faint," taxi driver Chou Sieh-tung, 53, who had cardiac surgery several years ago, said.

Chou was able to stop his car before passing out. He and his 27-year-old female passenger, Wang Tuan-ru, suffered only minor bruises, although the shock-waves from the falling plane shattered the taxi's windscreen.

"Chou and Wang are ready to be discharged from hospital, but they are still a bit shaken to go home just now," said a spokes-man at the Taipei City Hospital, where the injured were taken.

 

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TransAsia air crash leaves 31 dead, 15 injured, 12 unaccounted for

2015/02/05 01:24:42

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) Thirty-one people were confirmed dead, 15 injured and 12 unaccounted as of 0:50 a.m. Thursday, about 14 hours after the crash of a TransAsia Airways (復興航空) plane Wednesday morning, according to the Taipei City's fire department.

The ATR72-600 turbo-prop plane crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei City just minutes after taking off from Taipei Songshang Airport at 10:52 a.m.

The aircraft, with 53 passengers, including 31 mainland Chinese tourists on board, was headed to the outlying island of Kinmen.

Rescue works continued after midnight, and the bodies of the pilot Liao Chien-tsung （廖建宗）, co-pilot Liu Tzu-chung （劉自忠） and flight engineer Hung Ping-chung （洪炳衷）were retrieved after the fuselage and other parts of the plane, which was broken into three pieces and burrowed into the riverbed, were pulled out of the river at 0:26 a.m. Thursday.

Twenty life boats are still at the scene to search for the possible survivors and rescue efforts will continue.

(By Huang Jui-hung and Ted Chen)

 

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CAA demands all ATR planes grounded for checks

2015/02/04 22:36:41

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) on Wednesday ordered local carriers to ground the nation's total of 22 ATR 72 planes pending inspections in the wake of Wednesday's deadly air crash of a TransAsia Airways (復興航空) aircraft.

The CAA told TransAsia it must check its six ATR 72-500s and four ATR 72-600s before it can operate them again.

Uni Air (立榮航空), another locally based carrier, also needs to examine its 12 ATR 72-600 planes before putting them into operation as planned on Feb. 6, the CAA said.

The major points of concern are engines, fuel control and supply systems, it said.

Wednesday's incident in Taipei, which has left at least 25 dead, is the second air crash for an ATR 72 operated by TransAsia in the past year.

In July last year, an ATR 72-500 crashed in Penghu, killing 49 of the 58 people aboard.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Lee Hsin-Yin)

 

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[video=youtube;R5PiOz06zDQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5PiOz06zDQ[/video]

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Pilot of ill-fated plane calls out 'mayday' before crash

Central News Agency
2015-02-04 03:04 PM

Taipei, Feb. 4 (CNA) Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said the pilot of a TransAsia Airways plane that crashed into a river in Taipei clearly signaled that an emergency had occurred moments before crashing. The CAA said that based on a recording of communications between the cockpit of the ill-fated plane and the control tower, the pilot called out "mayday" three times at 10:54 a.m., shortly after it took off from Songshan Airport for Kinmen and just before it crashed.

The recording did not offer any other clues as to what may have happened that caused the plane to go down. As of 2 p.m., 29 of the 58 people on board had been found, with 12 confirmed dead, 16 injured and one showing no signs of life on the way to the hospital. The other 29 were thought to still be trapped in the plane's fuselage or floating in the river. The CAA said the Aviation Safety Council will investigate the cause of the crash but that in the meantime it will assess whether to ground other ATR72-600 aircraft in Taiwan similar to the model that crashed into the Keelung River on Wednesday.

"The CAA will make a further assessment and then decide whether to ground the same type of planes," said CAA Director-General Lin Tyh-ming (???). Lin said the ill-fated plane was delivered within the last year and completed its latest safety checks on Jan. 26. The new plane was part of an effort by TransAsia in recent years to modernize its aging fleet. It purchased 12 ATR72-600 planes in 2012, with five delivered last year and the order to be completed by 2017.

The accident was the airline's second in the last seven months. An older TransAsia Airways ATR72-500 crashed in outlying Penghu County in July 2014 after an aborted landing, a disaster that left 49 people dead.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Lilian Wu)

 

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Taiwan official confirms pilot’s ‘mayday’ call authentic as air crash death toll rises

Taiwan’s aviation regulator also orders "special checks" on all 22 turboprop ATR aircraft on the island

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 10:16am
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 7:24pm

Keira Lu Huang and Andrea Chen [email protected] [email protected]

Members of a search-and-rescue team use a boat to look for 12 people today who remain missing in Keelung River, in New Taipei City, near wreckage of the aircraft. Photo: AFP

The search has continued today for 12 missing people from the TransAsia Airway flight that clipped a bridge soon after take-off and crashed into a river in Taipei yesterday, killing at least 31 people.

An aviation official also confirmed today the authenticity of a recording of one of the pilots of the stricken aircraft saying “mayday, mayday, engine flameout” moments before it banked sharply and crashed.

The aircraft – carrying 53 passengers, including four children, and five crew members – was seen to lurch between buildings, then clip the bridge with one of its wings before crashing upside down in the shallow river at about 10.55am yesterday, shortly after taking off from Taipei’s Songshan International Airport.

Taiwanese rescue officials have refused to give up hope of finding those people who are still missing.

"We have not found survivors or bodies of the 12 missing people, but we will not give up; we’ll continue to search," Yeh Chun-hsing, an official with Taipei’s fire department, told reporters.

Rescuers look on as part of the wreckage of one of the TransAsia aircraft's engines is lifted from the crash site. Photo: Reuters

The official at Taiwan's Civil Aeronautical Administration, who declined to be named, confirmed that the widely broadcast audio clip of the distress call, made during exchanges between the control tower of Taipei's Songshan International Airport and the pilot of doomed TransAsia Flight GE235, was genuine.

However, the official but did not say how it might relate to the cause of the crash.

This sequence of images shows the plane moments before it crashed.

A transcript of excerpts of that exchange reads:

Control tower: “(inaudible) ... wind 100 degrees, 9.9 knots. Clear to take off”

Pilot: “Clear to take off, runway 10, TransAsia 235”

Pilot: “(inaudible) ... mayday, mayday, engine flameout”

Control tower: “TransAsia 235, please try again. Contact Taipei, approach on 119.7”

Control tower: “TransAsia 235. Control tower ... TransAsia 235. Control tower”

Video images of the plane’s final moments in the air captured on car dashboard cameras appear to show the left engine’s propeller at standstill as the aircraft turned sharply over Taipei, with its wings going vertical and clipping a highway bridge before plunging into the Keelung River yesterday.

Engine flameout refers to flames being extinguished in the combustion chamber of the engine, so that it shuts down and no longer drives the propeller.

Causes of a flameout could include a lack of fuel or being struck by a bird, volcanic ash or some other object. “Mayday” is an international emergency call.

Taiwan’s aviation regulator has also ordered operators of all 22 turboprop ATR planes on the island to carry out "special checks" on their aircraft.

The checks would focus on the engines, fuel control system, propeller systems, and spark plugs and ignition connectors in the turboprop aircraft, it said in a statement.

Relatives of the aircraft's mainland Chinese passengers arrive at Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport, in Fujian province, today before flying to Taiwan. Photo: Xinhua

A volunteer consoles a relative of a passenger on the aircraft as he arrives at the airport in Xiamen today before flying to Taiwan. Photo: Xinhua

However, it has not ordered the grounding of the aircraft, despite yesterday's accident being the second fatal crash involving a TransAsia plane in seven months.

Both of the aircraft's engines were recovered from the crash site this afternoon and taken to shore for examination by air accident investigators, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

Taipei’s mayor hailed the dead pilot a hero today after the aircraft narrowly avoided hitting buildings before crashing in a river.

"He really tried everything he could," Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said, his voice breaking into sobs.

This afternoon, heartbroken relatives of some of the mainland passengers on board the ill-fated TransAir aircraft arrived in Taiwan.

The first group of 15 relatives, and 11 employees of a Xiamen-based travel agency, took a Mandarin Airlines flight to Taoyuan International Airport, the agency said.

Tang Ke, the fiancée of mainland tourist guide Wang Qinghuo, who died in the crash, was also among the first group to arrive in Taiwan, the Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News reported.

The couple had planned to marry on Sunday, mainland media reported yesterday.

Some relatives fought to hold back tears, as they said they hoped to get to the crash scene and the funeral parlour where the bodies of their loved ones had been taken as soon as possible.

Many were openly weeping on their way from the airport to the bus arranged by TransAir.

A second group of 17 relatives and six travel agency staff were expected to arrive in Taiwan at 6.45pm.

TransAsia Flight GE235 was on its third flight of the day at the time of the crash and there had been no records of any malfunction during the previous two flights, the CAA statement said.

Macau’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement that the plane’s engines had been replaced at Macau Airport on April 19 last year, during its delivery flight, “due to engine-related technical issues”.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it had banned TransAsia Airlines from applying for new aviation rights for one year while it carried out an investigation into the crash.

A military policeman inspects passengers' luggage recovered today from the wreckage of the aircraft. Photo: EPA

About 60 divers have been searching the waters of Keelung River in New Taipei City, just outside the capital, Taipei, supported by at least 20 rescue boats.

A relative of a passenger killed during the plane crash weeps today at Taipei Funeral Parlour, in New Taipei City. Photo: AFP

Search teams found another body in the wreckage of ATR 72-600 propeller aircraft this morning, bringing the death toll to 31, the agency reported.

Fifteen other people were injured in the crash.

The agency reported that most survivors had been seated in the rear of the aircraft.

Those who survived the crash were pulled from the open door of a relatively undamaged section of the fuselage, which remained jutting above the river’s surface after the crash.

Among the survivors was a family of three, including a two-year-old boy whose heart stopped beating after three minutes under water. The child, Lin Jih-yao, recovered after receiving CPR, his uncle, Lin Ming-yi, told reporters.

During the night the bodies of the aircraft’s captain, Liao Chien-tsung, 42, and his two first officers – co-pilot Liu Tzu-chung and flight engineer Hung Ping-chung – were discovered in the Keelung River, the agency reported.

Police diver Cheng Ying-chih said the search and rescue efforts were being hampered by “zero visibility” in the turbid river and cold water temperatures that were forcing divers to work on one-hour shifts.

He said the front of the plane had broken into numerous pieces, making the job all the more difficult.

“We’re looking at a very tough search and rescue job,” Cheng told reporters gathered on the river bank, beside the wreckage where luggage had been removed and placed in neat rows.

A crane lifts the fuselage of the TransAsia aircraft from Keelung River onto the riverbank, in New Taipei City, early this morning. Photo: AFP

The mangled rear part of the fuselage lay upside down, its wings and tail assembly sheared off and multiple holes torn into its side.

At midday today, about a dozen relatives of Taiwanese victims arrived at the riverbank to perform traditional mourning rituals.

Accompanied by Buddhist monks ringing brass bells, they bowed to the river and held aloft cloth inscriptions tied to pieces of bamboo meant to guide the spirits of the dead to rest.

This afternoon, Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou visited five injured passengers in hospital in Taipei.

The five included the driver and female passenger of a taxi on the bridge that was struck by the wing of the aircraft as it crashed.

The United Daily News quoted him saying that aviation authorities needed to carry out an in-depth review and anyone found to be to blame for the accident must be penalised.

Ma stayed at the hospital for about 30 minutes before leaving to go to a funeral parlour in Taipei, to pay his respects to victims of the crash.

Relatives of the victims pray on the riverbank, next to the crash site in New Taipei City, during a traditional mourning ritual. Photo: AP

Six of the 31 mainland passengers on board the flight were dead, Xinhua reported.

Three other mainland passengers were among the injured.

Many of the mainlanders were from the southeastern city of Xiamen on a six-day tour to Taiwan by way of Quemoy, a former defence outpost of Taiwan.

One mainland passenger with severe injuries was due to undergo surgery later today, an official at Taipei City Hospital said.

Chief Executive of TransAsia Peter Chen (third right) bows with other executives of the company during a news conference after the TransAsia Airways plane crash. Photo: Reuters

Last night, the wreckage of Flight GE235 was lifted from the river by a crane.

Three large pieces were retrieved, with the severely damaged main fuselage of the aircraft and tail brought ashore at about 8pm.

The nose section was lifted from the water on to the riverbank shortly after midnight.

The force of the crash was seen to have pushed the aircraft's cockpit area down into the cargo hold.

Another part of the aircraft still remains at the bottom of the river as rescuers continue to search the surface areas of the river for missing passengers.

Emergency personnel retrieve the body of a passenger from the wreckage of a TransAsia Airways turboprop ATR 72-600 aircraft after it was crashed in a river, in New Taipei City. Photo: Reuters

Beijing will assist the investigation into the TransAsia air crash, the agency reported.

It is the first time a mainland agency will have participated in an air crash investigation in Taiwan.

An official at the Aviation Safety Council said that according to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the state of passengers on board the aircraft was permitted to participate in the investigation.

Several representatives of the Xiamen Tourism Bureau arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 10.25am today.

China National Tourism Administration sent a team, led by Liu Kezhi, head of the Department of Affairs on Tourism of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, to Taiwan today to assist the search efforts and also arrange for relatives of the mainland passengers to travel to the island.

Watch: The moment a TransAsia plane hits bridge and crashes in Taiwan

Officials from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board were also due to arrive in Taiwan this morning, while investigators from the BEA (Bureau d’Enquêtes et d’Analyses pour la sécurité de l’aviation civile) were expected to arrive there this afternoon.

The turboprop aircraft was made in France and the engine was made in Canada.

Today's search for 12 people on the aircraft who are still missing was briefly interrupted at about 1am because of low temperatures and poor visibility, the agency said.

Rescuers then resumed their efforts by searching the surface areas of the river.

Two rescue boats had begun the overnight search of the crash scene at about midnight.

The belongings of passengers were also placed on the riverbank beside the wreckage.

The airline will work with family members to identify passengers’ luggage.

It was the second deadly crash in seven months for TransAsia, with the same plane model crashing into the offshore tourist island of Penghu in July, killing 48 people.

The latest crash has stirred up concerns over whether Songshan International Airport should be closed.

Taipei's original airport is located close to residential areas and its air safety level has long been a source of controversy.

It normally handles domestic routes within Taiwan and flights to China, South Korea and Japan, while Taipei's newer Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport deals with most of the flights abroad.

Only last year a Democratic Progressive Party legislator suggested closing the airport and changing the site into a park.

Following the crash, a legislator from the ruling Kuomintang Nationalist Party, has repeated this call and called on the government to act soon.

Lai Cheng-I, chairman of Taiwan’s General Chamber of Commerce, said today that the newer airport was able to handle all of Taipei’s air traffic and that the land used by Songshan International Airport could be put to better use.

Today Zhang Zhijun, head of the mainland's Taiwan affairs office, postponed his official visit to Quemoy – originally scheduled on February 7 and 8 – to express his condolences to survivors and relatives of the victims of the crash, the spokesperson of the office said.

Zhang had been due to meet his Taiwanese counterpart, Wang Yu-chi, in Quemoy.

Quemoy officials said they respected Zhang’s decision.

 

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Air disaster survivors describe final moments as plane hit bridge and crashed into the river

One passenger says he regained senses in flooded fuselage and managed to get his wife and baby to safety. Another saw a stewardess thrown to ceiling in her seat as plane went down

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 2:04pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 February, 2015, 6:35pm

Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]

Relatives of those who died in the disaster pray at the riverbank. Photo: AP

A survivor of the Taipei air disaster has said there was no warning from the crew in the moments leading up to the crash and has described his horror as the airliner struck a bridge and plummeted into a river.

Bank clerk Lin Ming-wei, 37, is recovering in hospital after the accident on Wednesday morning.

He has spoken about his ordeal to his brother Lin Ming-yi, who briefed reporters at Taipei City Hospital.

Lin said it had felt strange that the aircraft was flying so low after taking off from the city’s domestic airport, but he could see that the pilot was trying to climb and there was no indication from the crew that there was a problem.

He saw the plane bank 90 degrees to the left and then hit the bridge, plunging into the river. “It was horrifying,” Lin was quoted as saying.

He was on board the aircraft with his 34-year-old wife Chiang Yu-ying and their two-year-old son Lin Jih-yao.

He said he briefly lost consciousness, but when he regained his senses the cabin was filled with water and his wife was nearby soaked to the skin.

He looked for his son and saw that he was upside down with his head in the water, still with his seat belt on, but he quickly managed to pull him up.

“I told myself I could not lose my son and kept performing CPR to bring him back, which he did eventually,” Lin was quoted as saying by his brother.

Lin and several other survivors climbed out of the broken section of the plane and were rescued.

He and his family are still in an intensive care ward, but doctors have said their condition is stable.

Another survivor of the crash said he could not hear the noise of the engines after the plane took off.

Chen Ming-chung, 50, told his wife the aircraft then banked hard to the left and there was the sound of an impact.

“My husband saw a stewardess wearing a seat belt get thrown to the ceiling of the cabin in her seat and there were screams everywhere,” Chen’s wife told reporters at the hospital where he is receiving treatment in Taipei.

“Some passengers were hit by debris while other’s bodies were pierced by sharp metal. It was like a bloodbath in a movie,” she said.

“The left side of the plane was filled with muddy water and a crack had opened in the tail with light beaming in. Some passengers started to shout ‘quickly climb towards the crack’ as water flowed in,” she said.

Her husband was unable to open his seat belt to scramble to safety, but another man came to help free him after he shouted for help.

“My husband said he must find that man and thank him personally,” she said.

Chen told his wife he feels lucky to be alive because he switched seats to the right-hand side of the aircraft after he boarded the plane.

The left side of the airliner bore the brunt of the impact as it hit the water, he said.

 

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One passenger's life-saving switch - and a stranger's helping hand

Divers describe grisly scene in the submerged wreckage of flight GE235

PUBLISHED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 3:16am
UPDATED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 3:16am

Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]

Relatives of victims of the TransAsia Airways crash pray on the banks of the Keelung River near the plane's wreckage yesterday. Photo: AP

An uncanny premonition saved the life of TransAsia Airways passenger Chen Ming-chung.

The 50-year-old property broker - one of 15 people rescued from flight GE235 on Wednesday - had an "uneasy feeling" before he boarded the plane and insisted that he change seats.

Chen's wife, Shih Chiu-mei, said he told her that he switched seats to the right-hand side of the ATR72-600 propeller aircraft. It was a move that saved his life.

His original seat was on the side to first hit the water when the plane banked and crashed into Taipei's muddy Keelung River, killing at least 31 people.

"His life was really saved because of that," Shih said yesterday at the Taipei hospital where her husband was being treated for a broken arm.

The aircraft left Taipei Songshan Airport at 10.52am on Wednesday bound for Taiwan's former defence outpost of Quemoy. It crash four minutes later.

"My husband saw a stewardess thrown to the ceiling of the cabin while strapped in her seat, and there was constant screaming," Shih said.

"Some passengers were hit by debris while the bodies of others were pierced by sharp metal. It was like a bloodbath in a movie."

Shih said her husband told her that after the crash the left side of the plane was filled with muddy water and a crack had opened in the tail, letting in light.

"Some passengers started to shout, 'Quickly climb towards the crack' as water flowed in," she quoted her husband as saying.

She said Chen could not unlock his seatbelt to scramble to safety, but he shouted for help and a man came to his aid.

"My husband said he must find that man and thank him personally," she said, adding that she had read in reports that retired physician Huang Chin-shun, 71, had helped free others from their seatbelts and reach safety.

The Taipei Fire Department said the plane broke into three sections, with the overturned tail and fuselage half-submerged in the water and the nose buried three metres into the river's m&d.

Rescuers said they faced a major struggle yesterday as they continued their search for survivors and bodies. Twelve of the 58 passengers and crew are missing.

Divers search waters near the crash site yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Rescuers said visibility in the river was almost zero and they had to feel their way through the wreckage. They also described the horror of the scene inside the crashed plane.

Chen Po-yung, one of the divers sent to look for survivors on Wednesday, said it was very dark inside the cabin but what he saw was like a killing field, with some of the passengers upside down, still strapped in their seats.

"Even with the torch light, I could only see dimly the inside of the cabin because it was filled with fallen objects," Chen said.

"I tried to reach out to one passenger only to find that I had pulled out an arm."

An aviation official yesterday confirmed the authenticity of a recording of one of the pilots of the stricken aircraft saying, "Mayday, mayday, engine flameout" moments before the plane crashed.

TransAsia said it would offer NT$1.2 million (HK$295,000) in "consolation money" to the family of each person killed and NT$200,000 to each person injured in the crash.

 

[Mirage]

Heartbroken relatives arrive to take their loved ones home

Scenes of grief at funeral parlour as relatives view photos to identify bodies

PUBLISHED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 3:16am
UPDATED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 3:16am

Andrea Chen [email protected]

A man consoles two women at the funeral for victims of the TransAsia Airways plane crash. Photo: EPA

Many of the relatives of the 31 mainland passengers on TransAsia Airways flight GE235 fought back tears as they arrived in Taiwan yesterday.

Out of respect for the deceased, the injured and their families, a scheduled meeting between the mainland's Taiwan affairs head, Zhang Zhijun, and his Taiwanese counterpart, Wang Yu-chi, was postponed to a later date yet to be decided, a Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman said yesterday afternoon.

The two were due to meet this weekend during Zhang's official visit to Quemoy, also the destination of the TransAsia flight.

The spokesperson also said the mainland's civil aviation authority would send a team to work with Taiwanese experts investigating the crash.

The 31 mainland passengers were part of two tour groups flying from Taipei to Quemoy on Wednesday morning on the last day of their six-day trip to Taiwan.

By last night, 21 had been confirmed dead, three had survived and the rest were missing.

Among the dozens of relatives flying in to Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon was Tang Ke, the fiancée of tour guide Wang Qinghuo.

Wang, 27, was one of the mainlanders killed in the incident, and he and Tang were due to get married this weekend.

Xiamen Daily reported that Wang, who was from Jiangxi province, died in hospital, despite receiving emergency treatment.

Some relatives fought back tears on arrival at the airport, saying they hoped to get to the crash scene as soon as possible. Many wept on their way from the airport to the bus arranged by the airline.

There were emotional scenes at a funeral parlour last night where relatives viewed photos to identify their loved ones.

Three relatives visited Huang Liping, 38, one of three mainlanders confirmed to have survived the crash, in hospital, Central News Agency said. Huang was in stable condition, with several fractured bones. But Huang's wife did not survive.

Flying Tours, a Taiwanese agency that jointly hosted one of the mainland groups, told CNA that an insurance company would pay the families of each deceased victim NT$2 million (HK$490,000) in compensation, while each of the injured would receive NT$200,000.

 

[Mirage]

Taxi driver in plane crash video literally did not know what hit him

2015/02/05 17:53:45

Photo courtesy of the public

Taipei, Feb. 5 (CNA) "When it happened, my mind was a complete blank," said the driver of the taxi clipped by TransAsia Airways (復興航空) Flight 235 before it plunged into a Taipei river Wednesday morning, killing at least 31 of the 58 people on board.

Chou Hsi-tung (周錫東), who local media said is 52 years old, was driving his mini-van taxi along an elevated road in Taipei's Nangang District at 10:53 a.m. when the unthinkable happened.

The ATR 72 turboprop plane cleared several buildings after it began losing altitude, turning on its side just before its wing struck Chou's car and then the nearly empty expressway.

The roof of his car was dented inward, the windshield completely smashed, and the hood crushed in, but the driver and his 26-year-old passenger luckily made it out alive.

While the nation was transfixed by sensational video footage of the crash taken by another motorist, Chou himself literally did not know what hit him at first.

"I didn't even see there was a plane flying there," he reportedly told his company, Crown Taxi (皇冠大車隊), before being brought to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion and vision problems in his right eye, which was apparently hit by broken glass.

"It just felt like a darkness, like black clouds, and then suddenly a huge white object appeared right in front of my eyes," said Chou, who is not receiving media personnel while he recovers. "I only realized it was a plane after I got out of my car!" he said, according to the company.

His passenger, identified by her surname Wang (汪), was reportedly in stable condition with minor injuries.

Crown Taxi confirmed that the car has most likely been totaled after being grazed by the plane's wing.

The company has already received a caller asking to buy the "miracle car" that survived a plane crash but turned it down.

In a statement, Crown Taxi said that Chou is grateful for everyone's concern but is unable to take visitors or interview requests. It added that people should focus on offering sympathies and prayers to those who were onboard the plane.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration said that as of 4 p.m. Thursday, 31 people onboard the plane including the pilot and copilot were confirmed dead, 15 were being treated for injuries, and 12 were still missing.

On Thursday, a recording of Chou's call to Crown following the accident was made public, instantly earning him praise for his collected demeanor despite having been hit by an airplane.

A full translation of the first call follows:

Crown: Hello, this is Crown Taxi.

Chou: Hello, this is No. 1098. A small plane just fell down and hit my car. The... the... the plane fell into the Keelung River. I'm on Huandong Boulevard. Please call me an ambulance.

Crown: No. 1098, you, you, you... uh... You're on Huandong? Wait a second, wait a second!

(The call is transferred)

Crown: Hello.

Chou: Hello, I'm No. 1098. I just got onto Huandong -- I just brought a passenger up unto Huandong, and as I was getting on (the expressway), a plane flew by and hit me.

Crown: A remote-controlled model plane?

Chou: My car is completely wrecked.

Crown: A remote-controlled model plane?

Chou: Not a remote-controlled plane, a small manned plane.

Crown: Huh? Uh... Are there any casualties?

Chou: The whole thing fell into the Keelung River.

Crown: Really? Are there any casualties?

Chou: Huh?

Crown: Are there any casualties? Is anyone hurt?

Chou: My passenger can't get out of the vehicle. My car's wrecked. Call me an ambulance as fast as possible.

Crown: You're No. 1098, right?

Chou: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Crown: Where are you right now?

Chou: Nangang. We just got on Huandong Boulevard.

Crown: Huandong Boulevard. OK, I'll give your phone number to the other side (119).

Chou: Uh.

Crown: OK, got it, bye.

(By Wesley Holzer)

 

[Mirage]

Four more bodies in Taiwan plane crash retrieved; pilot was found in cockpit 'still clutching controls'

Eight people still missing; TransAsia banned from applying new routes for one year

PUBLISHED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 2:24pm
UPDATED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 2:46pm

Laura Zhou and Agence France-Presse

Members of a search-and-rescue team near the wreckage of the aircraft. Photo: AFP

The pilot of the crashed TransAsia plane was still clutching the joystick when his body was found in the cockpit, after he battled to avoid populated areas, it was revealed today, as the bodies of four more victims were found.

The remains were discovered this morning as the search area was extended along the Keelung River. Eight people are still missing.

Pilot Liao Chien-tsung, 41, has been hailed as a hero for apparently making a last-ditch attempt to steer the turboprop plane away from built-up areas during its steep descent, avoiding more deaths and damage.

Thirty-five people are now known to have died in Wednesday's crash after a TransAsia Airways plane clipped a bridge shortly after take-off from the city's domestic airport and plunged into the river.

His body was found in the cockpit still holding the joystick with both hands, and with his legs badly fractured, the Taipei-based China Times newspaper said.

“He struggled to hold onto the joystick till the last moment before the plane plunged into the river, in an attempt to control its direction and to reduce casualties,” the report said, citing unnamed prosecutors investigating the case.

Details were not given of where the bodies were found this morning.

Three helicopters started patrolling further along the Keelung River today amid fears that some of the missing may have been washed further downstream towards the larger Tamsui River.

A total of 300 rescuers, including 50 divers, are searching six different stretches of water in cases survivors may be trapped in mudflats in bends in the river, a fire brigade spokesman told local media.

The Coast Guard will also carry out search operations at the mouth of the Tamsui River where it meets the sea.

Relatives of victims of the crash from mainland China visited the scene of the disaster on Friday morning, Radio Taiwan International reported.

Many of the victims were from Xiamen in Fujian province and officials from the city have also arrived in Taipei.

Staff from Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council were due to meet representatives from TransAsia Airways and the Civil Aeronautics Administration this morning and may release details of their findings into the crash later today.

An aviation official also confirmed on Thursday the authenticity of a recording of one of the pilots of the stricken aircraft saying "Mayday, mayday, engine flameout" moments before it banked sharply and crashed.

The aircraft - carrying 53 passengers, including four children, and five crew members - was seen to lurch between buildings, then clip the bridge with one of its wings before crashing upside down in the shallow river at about 10.55am on Wednesday, shortly after taking off from Taipei's Songshan International Airport.

Video images of the plane's final moments in the air captured on car dashboard cameras appear to show the left engine's propeller at standstill as the aircraft turned sharply over Taipei, with its wings going vertical and clipping a highway bridge before plunging into the Keelung River.

Authorities have also banned the airline from applying for new routes for one year in the wake of the latest incident.

Wednesday’s accident, which occurred on a domestic route to the island of Kinmen, was the second fatal crash for TransAsia after a July disaster that left 48 people dead.

“We have imposed a one-year ban on TransAsia from applying for new routes as a penalty,” said Civil Aeronautics Administration director Lin Tyh-ming.

Taiwanese media said the authorities were looking into allegations against the airline including labour shortages and insufficient training which could have affected safety standards.

“There is a manpower shortage of pilots... TransAsia has to recruit pilots with less experience from other companies after more than 20 of it pilots went to two newer airlines,” the Apple Daily said, citing unnamed sources.

Calls were also mounting from politicians for TransAsia to suspend its operations.

“This is a serious issue that two crashes occurred in just seven months. The company must immediately adopt an in-depth review of its management regarding problems such as workload and salaries,” lawmaker Lin Teh-fu of the ruling Kuomintang party told AFP.

 

[Mirage]

TransAsia crash survivors say last-minute seat change, strangers' help saved their lives

Divers describe grisly scene in the submerged wreckage of flight GE235

PUBLISHED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 3:16am
UPDATED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 2:43pm

Lawrence Chung in Taipei [email protected]

Relatives of victims of the TransAsia Airways crash pray on the banks of the Keelung River near the plane's wreckage yesterday. Photo: AP

An uncanny premonition saved the life of TransAsia Airways passenger Chen Ming-chung.

The 50-year-old property broker - one of 15 people rescued from flight GE235 on Wednesday - had an "uneasy feeling" before he boarded the plane and insisted that he change seats.

Chen's wife, Shih Chiu-mei, said he told her that he switched seats to the right-hand side of the ATR72-600 propeller aircraft. It was a move that saved his life.

His original seat was on the side to first hit the water when the plane banked and crashed into Taipei's muddy Keelung River, killing at least 31 people.

"His life was really saved because of that," Shih said yesterday at the Taipei hospital where her husband was being treated for a broken arm.

The aircraft left Taipei Songshan Airport at 10.52am on Wednesday bound for Taiwan's former defence outpost of Quemoy. It crash four minutes later.

"My husband saw a stewardess thrown to the ceiling of the cabin while strapped in her seat, and there was constant screaming," Shih said.

"Some passengers were hit by debris while the bodies of others were pierced by sharp metal. It was like a bloodbath in a movie."

Shih said her husband told her that after the crash the left side of the plane was filled with muddy water and a crack had opened in the tail, letting in light.

Watch: The moment TransAsia GE235 hits bridge and crashes in Taiwan

"Some passengers started to shout, 'Quickly climb towards the crack' as water flowed in," she quoted her husband as saying.

She said Chen could not unlock his seatbelt to scramble to safety, but he shouted for help and a man came to his aid.

"My husband said he must find that man and thank him personally," she said, adding that she had read in reports that retired physician Huang Chin-shun, 71, had helped free others from their seatbelts and reach safety.

The Taipei Fire Department said the plane broke into three sections, with the overturned tail and fuselage half-submerged in the water and the nose buried three metres into the river's m&d.

Rescuers said they faced a major struggle yesterday as they continued their search for survivors and bodies. Twelve of the 58 passengers and crew are missing.

Divers search waters near the crash site yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Rescuers said visibility in the river was almost zero and they had to feel their way through the wreckage. They also described the horror of the scene inside the crashed plane.

Chen Po-yung, one of the divers sent to look for survivors on Wednesday, said it was very dark inside the cabin but what he saw was like a killing field, with some of the passengers upside down, still strapped in their seats.

"Even with the torch light, I could only see dimly the inside of the cabin because it was filled with fallen objects," Chen said.

"I tried to reach out to one passenger only to find that I had pulled out an arm."

An aviation official yesterday confirmed the authenticity of a recording of one of the pilots of the stricken aircraft saying, "Mayday, mayday, engine flameout" moments before the plane crashed.

TransAsia said it would offer NT$1.2 million (HK$295,000) in "consolation money" to the family of each person killed and NT$200,000 to each person injured in the crash.

 

[Mirage]

Accident investigators say main cause of Taipei air crash was engine failure

Eight people still missing after the TransAsia airliner crashed into a river in northern Taiwan on Wednesday

PUBLISHED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 2:24pm
UPDATED : Friday, 06 February, 2015, 7:48pm

Lawrence Chung, Laura Zhou and Agence France-Presse

Workers carry a body away from the crash site. Photo: AFP

Accident investigators have said the main cause of the Taipei air crash that killed at least 35 people was engine failure.

The Taiwan Aviation Safety Council said an initital investigation showed that one of the engines on the TransAsia plane malfunctioned.

[video=youtube;TdmNE7rPU_A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdmNE7rPU_A[/video]

The report said a warning was flashed in the cockpit, but one of the crew then shut down the aircraft's other engine.

The report did not state that human error directly caused the crash, but the crew's actions did cause the aircraft to lose speed.

The details came after it was revealed that the pilot of the crashed TransAsia plane was still clutching the aircraft's joystick when his body was found in the cockpit after he battled to avoid populated areas.

Pilot Liao Chien-tsung, 41, has been hailed as a hero for apparently making a last-ditch attempt to steer the turboprop plane away from built-up areas during its steep descent, avoiding more deaths and damage.

Thirty-five people are now known to have died in Wednesday's crash after the plane clipped a bridge shortly after take-off from the city's domestic airport and plunged into the river.

Liao's body was found in the cockpit still holding the joystick with both hands, and with his legs badly fractured, the Taipei-based China Times newspaper said.

Relatives of victims from mainland China watch as divers recover bodies at the crash site. Photo: AP

“He struggled to hold onto the joystick till the last moment before the plane plunged into the river in an attempt to control its direction and to reduce casualties,” the report said, citing unnamed prosecutors investigating the case.

The bodies of four more victims of the crash were found this morning.

The remains were discovered as the search area was extended along the Keelung River. Eight people are still missing.

Among the bodies found this morning were those of two boys who were still strapped into their seats. They were discovered in the river about 50 metres from the crash site.

The body of an elderly woman was found about 100 metres downstream from the scene of the accident, while the remains of a middle-aged man were discovered nearby, the Central News Agency reported.

Three helicopters started patrolling further along the Keelung River today amid fears that some of the missing may have been washed further downstream towards the larger Tamsui River.

A total of 300 rescuers, including 50 divers, are searching six different stretches of water in cases survivors may be trapped in mudflats in bends in the river, a fire brigade spokesman told local media.

The coastguard will also carry out search operations at the mouth of the Tamsui River where it meets the sea.

Relatives of victims of the crash from mainland China visited the scene of the disaster on Friday morning, Radio Taiwan International reported.

Search and rescue divers recover two bodies from the site. Photo: AP

Many of the victims were from Xiamen in Fujian province and officials from the city have also arrived in Taipei.

Staff from Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council were due to meet representatives from TransAsia Airways and the Civil Aeronautics Administration this morning before releasing details of their findings.

An aviation official confirmed on Thursday the authenticity of a recording of one of the pilots of the stricken aircraft saying "Mayday, mayday, engine flameout" moments before it banked sharply and crashed.

The aircraft - carrying 53 passengers, including four children, and five crew members - was seen to lurch between buildings, then clip the bridge with one of its wings before crashing upside down in the shallow river at about 10.55am on Wednesday, shortly after taking off from Taipei's Songshan International Airport.

Video images of the plane's final moments in the air captured on car dashboard cameras appear to show the left engine's propeller at standstill as the aircraft turned sharply over Taipei, with its wings going vertical and clipping a highway bridge before plunging into the Keelung River.

The authorities have also banned the airline from applying for new routes for one year in the wake of the latest incident.

Wednesday’s accident, which occurred on a domestic flight to the island of Kinmen, was the second fatal crash for TransAsia after a July disaster that left 48 people dead.

Search and rescue divers seek eight more passengers who are still missing. The search was widened after some other bodies were found further down the river. Photo: AP

“We have imposed a one-year ban on TransAsia from applying for new routes as a penalty,” said Civil Aeronautics Administration director Lin Tyh-ming.

Taiwanese media said the authorities were looking into allegations against the airline including staff shortages and insufficient training which could have affected safety standards.

“There is a manpower shortage of pilots ...TransAsia had to recruit pilots with less experience from other companies after more than 20 of it pilots went to two newer airlines,” the Apple Daily newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Calls were also mounting from politicians for TransAsia to suspend its operations.

“This is a serious issue that two crashes occurred in just seven months. The company must immediately adopt an in-depth review of its management regarding problems such as workload and salaries,” lawmaker Lin Teh-fu of the ruling Kuomintang party told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Members of a search-and-rescue team near the wreckage of the aircraft. Photo: AFP

 

[Mirage]

TransAsia pilots hailed as heroes for avoiding populated areas

Staff Reporter
2015-02-06

Liao Chien-tsung, center. (Internet photo)

A rescue team searches for missing passengers. (Photo/CNA)

Liao Chien-tsung, the pilot of crashed TransAsia flight GE235, co-pilot Liu Tzu-chung and flight engineer Hung Ping-chung have been praised for their efforts to avoid densely-populated areas and attempts to save the passengers on board by landing the plane into Keelung river, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Daily.

Footage captured by a vehicle dashboard camera showed that, as the plane plummeted from the sky, the pilots turned the plane left on its side to avoid high buildings, clipping an elevated expressway before crashing vertically into the river. Air traffic control heard a male voice shout "Mayday! Mayday! Engine flameout!" before the crash. The plane took off from Taipei Songshan Airport bound for the outlying Kinmen archipelago at 10:52am Thursday but crashed into the river at 10:54am.

The death toll stood at 31 as of 10am on Friday, with 15 survivors hospitalized, leaving 12 people still unaccounted for, according to the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The taxi driver who narrowly escaped death when his vehicle was struck by the plane wing has been taken to hospital with a concussion and injuries to one of his eyes but his passenger was unharmed.

Colonel Steve Ganyard, a contributor to US news network ABC, said the pilots held the plane's nose up to avoid buildings and the bridge and they did whatever they could to land the plane in the river to give the passengers the best chance of survival.

Senior pilots in Taiwan praised the courage of the pilots, saying that it is difficult to find a river in which to land a plane in the densely-populated capital city. Residents living near the crash site also expressed their gratitude to the pilots since the incident could have caused many more injuries and deaths. A family member of three survivors of the crash thanked the pilots for minimizing the damage. The three survivors say they heard the engines cut out 30 seconds after take off, then they felt the plane veer to the left. The pilots then tried to pull the plane up, but it climbed only slightly before crashing into the river.

A businessman surnamed Su from Taichung has decided to contribute to the tuition fees of Liao's nine-year-old son until he graduates from college. Su, who has TV panel factories in Guangzhou, Henan and Shaoxing, said his two children are about the same age and he was deeply touched by Liao's heroic move. Su has decided to donate NT$500,000 to Liao's family and open a bank account to pay the tuition fees of Liao's son.

 

[Mirage]

Both engines of TransAsia Airways plane failed before Taipei crash: official

CNA
2015-02-06

Wang Hsing-chung during a press conference on the crash in Taipei, Feb. 6. (Photo/CNA)

Data from the two black boxes retrieved from a TransAsia Airways plane that crashed into a river in Taipei showed that both of the turboprop aircraft's engines failed before the crash, the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said Friday.

Neither engine had any power during the last minute and 7 seconds before the aircraft plunged into the Keelung River, ASC managing director Wang Hsing-chung said at a news conference in Taipei.

A warning first went off for engine No. 2 when the plane reached an altitude of about 1,200 feet, according to the flight data recorder, he said.

Forty-six seconds later, power to engine No. 1 was cut off and then turned back on a full 56 seconds after that, just six seconds before the plane hit the ground, Wang said in presenting the timeline of what happened.

He did not give any explanation for why engine No. 1 was turned off.

TransAsia Airways flight 235 crashed three minutes and 23 seconds after getting clearance at 10:51:13 to take off Wednesday morning from Songshan Airport in northern Taipei en route to Kinmen.

Fifteen of the 58 people on board survived the accident while 35 have been confirmed dead and another eight remain unaccounted for.

The ATR72-600 aircraft was less than a year old but had experienced engine problems before.

Representatives from the French Land Transport Accident Investigation Bureau, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, the plane's manufacturer ATR and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada in Taiwan also attended the press conference.

 

[Mirage]

Cockpit voice recorder for crashed TransAsia Airways flight GE235 made public

CNA
2015-02-06

A press conference held by Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council on the TransAsia Airways crash, Feb. 6. (Photo/CNA)

Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council on Friday released the information on the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder on board the TransAsia Airways passenger plane that crashed two days earlier.

The following is the timeline of the incident according to data registered on the cockpit voice recorder:

10:51:13 Flight GE235 is cleared for take-off

10:52:38.3 Main alarm goes off in cockpit for engine No. 2

10:52:43.0 Pilots mention easing power [pulling back the throttle] for engine No. 1

10:53:00 Pilots discuss procedure for handling engine flameout

10:53:06.4 Pilots again mention pullback of throttle for engine No. 1 and confirm flameout of engine No. 2

10:53:12.6 to 10:53:18.8 Alarm for loss of speed goes off for first time in cockpit

10:53:19.6 Pilots mention engine No. 1 propeller is auto-feathering and power to that engine has been cut off. Alarm for loss of speed goes off again two seconds later

10:53:34.9 Pilots issue first mayday and notify tower of engine flameout

10:54:09.2 Pilots repeatedly call for re-ignition of engine No. 1

10:54:34.4 Main alarm goes off for second time in cockpit Unknown noise recorded 0.4 seconds later

10:54:36.6 Cockpit voice recorder stops

 

[Mirage]

25 Chinese killed, 3 injured and 3 missing in plane crash

2015/02/06 23:09:53

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Twenty-five of the 31 Chinese nationals on board the crashed TransAsia Airways plane have been confirmed dead, while three others were injured and another three unaccounted for, Chou Jih-shine (周繼祥), vice chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, said Friday.

A TransAsia Airways (復興航空) ATR 72 turboprop plane carrying 53 passengers and five crew members crashed into a river in Taipei shortly after taking off on Wednesday, killing 35 people and injuring 15, with eight others unaccounted for as of 4 p.m. Friday.

Chou told CNA that he had notified the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, SEF's Chinese counterpart, of the latest information.

The 31 Chinese nationals, who were in two tour groups coming from Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province, plus four independent tourists, were mostly traveling with their families.

(By Chou Yi-ling, Kao Chao-fen and Kuo Chung-han)

 

[Mirage]

TransAsia pilots may have shut down wrong engine, say experts

Date February 7, 2015 - 4:44PM

At least 35 people on board the TransAsia flight were killed in the crash. Photo: AP

Taipei: The TransAsia Airways plane that crashed in Taiwan sounded a warning from one engine before fuel was manually cut to the other, investigators said.

Analysis of the ATR 72's flight-data recorder showed that the right-hand, or No. 2, engine, was automatically idled when the alarm went off, even though it was functioning normally. The No. 1 engine, on the left, was also running as usual before fuel was cut seconds later, Thomas Wang, managing director of Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council, said at a briefing in Taipei.

Mr Wang declined to draw conclusions about the warning or the actions of the crew, saying the investigation was still in its preliminary stages.

The pilots had discussed an engine flameout 35 seconds before sounding a "May-day" distress call. Photo: Reuters

The safety council said it would continue to investigate the cause of the loss of power to both engines. But aviation experts said the engine data suggested the pilots had misidentified which engine had malfunctioned.

"They had a misconception about which engine failed, and they shut down the good one," said David Learmount, the operations and safety editor at Flightglobal, an online publication that covers the aviation industry.

Friday's disclosures provide the first indications of what happened to Flight 235 in the four minutes between takeoff and its descent into the Keelung River. At least 35 of the 58 people aboard the domestic flight between Taipei and the island of Kinmen, near mainland China, are confirmed dead. Eight people were still unaccounted for on Friday.

The pilots had discussed an engine flameout 35 seconds before sounding a "May-day" distress call, Mr Wang said. Both engines were intact when investigators recovered them, he said.

Rescuers widened their search to more than 30 kilometres of rive from the crash site in downtown Taipei, with the coastguard patrolling 10 nautical miles out to sea.

Both pilot Liao Jian-zong and co-pilot Liu Zi-zhong died in the accident.

Pilot Liao had 4914 hours of flying experience and his co-pilot had 6922 hours, TransAsia said. There was also an observer on board, Hong Bing-zhong, who had 16,121 hours of experience.

The flight had departed Taipei's Songshan Airport for an hour-long flight to Kinmen. Footage from a dashboard-mounted camera in a car showed the plane's wings tilted at a steep angle as it swerved over an elevated highway, with one tip clipping a taxi and the railing before the plane plunged into the river.

Bloomberg