Taiwan TransAsia Engines Failed before Crash

Local Editor

The fateful Taiwanese Flight GE235 that killedat least 31 people, injured many others and left many unaccounted for, witnessed a recent critical revelation concerning the reasons that led to its crash short after it took off from Taipei airport.

Investigators declared as the death toll rose to at least 35 that both engines on the TransAsia plane that crashed in Taiwan this week failed before the ATR 72-600 plummeted into a river.

The findings from the plane's black boxes were released as reports emerged that the pilot was still clutching the joystick when his body was found in the cockpit, after he apparently battled to avoid populated areas.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration [CAA] also disclosed that TransAir Airways had failed to meet around a third of the requirements it had demanded after another fatal crash just seven months ago in Taiwan's western Penghu islands.

In the first account of the last moments of Flight GE235 which crashed Wednesday, the Aviation Safety Council which is investigating the accident said one engine had "flamed out" while the other was shut down manually.

Director Thomas Wang, referring to the turboprop plane's right engine stated, "The plane flashed a flame-out signal for one of the two engines at 10:53:28 when the plane climbed to an altitude of 1,200 feet, triggering a warning."

"Then the other engine was shut down manually. The pilot tried to restart the engines but to no avail. That means that during the flight's final moments, neither engine had any thrust. We heard 'Mayday' at 10:54:35," he added.
However, Wang said it was "not clear" why the left engine was shut down manually.
According to the report, France's civil aviation body said that two of its investigators and four from ATR would be dispatched to assist Taiwanese authorities with their enquiries.

Then again, as calls from lawmakers mountedfor a total suspension of TransAsia's operations, Clark Lin, chief of the CAA's Flight Standard Division asserted that it had failed to meet many of the requirements the CAA demanded after the airline's July disaster that left 48 people dead.

He commented, "If they fail to meet with requirements before the deadline expires, the company could be punished depending on the extent of the violations."
Moreover, Lin continued that the CAA also found two TransAsia pilots had slightly breached a mandatory 32-hour working week, but added the pair were not aboard the ill-fated plane.

The regulator had grounded a total of 22 ATR planes from two Taiwanese airlines for safety checks following the accident, and TransAsia had been banned from applying for new routes for one year.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team