Transasia Airways Crash - A jet carrying mostly Chinese tourists crashed into a river in Taiwan earlier, killing at least 26 people. The deadly, dramatic moment when the TransAsia Airways crash occurred was captured on video, via dashcam footage, showing the plane scraping through a major highway before crashing into a river.
At least 15 people are known to have survived the TransAsia Airways crash. However, 20 people are still missing and are being searched by rescuers, according to the BBC.
The plane involved in the TransAsia Airways crash was an ATR-72 turbo-prop plane which had just taken off from Taipei Songshan Airport. It was headed to the Kinmen islands, which is off the coast of the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen.
According to reports, flight controllers lost contact with the plane at 10:55 local time (02:55 GMT) before the TransAsia Airways crash.
Reports say that the final communication from the jet's pilots to air traffic control was "Mayday, mayday, engine flame out." The statement was played via local media, though it wasn't immediately verified by aviation officials.
A flameout, which was mentioned in the alleged recording prior to the TransAsia Airways crash, reportedly occurs when fuel supply to the engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion. This results in engine failure. However, this was only a possibility since the Twin-engined aircraft is usually able to keep flying even with one engine failing, according to Reuters.
The plane carried 58 people. After breaking from the TransAsia Airways crash, its fuselage now lies half-submerged in the Keelung River.
Meanwhile, rescue efforts are ongoing, reported ABC News.
TV footage featured rescuers standing on the tail section of the broken wreckage from the TransAsia Airways crash. They are shown trying to pull passengers out of the plane through the use of ropes.
The majority of the plane, including its fuselage's front section and the wings, was shown as appearing to be underwater.
Upon arrival at the site of the TransAsia Airways crash, emergency teams reportedly had to cut the plane open in order to gain access. They afterwards attempted to reach passengers trapped in the front section of the fuselage.
"At the moment, things don't look too optimistic," said Wu Jun-hong, a Taipei fire department official who is coordinating the rescue effort.
Wu added that the fire department had also requested heavy cranes for the plane's body to be pulled out of the water.
The plane's flight data recorders, known as black boxes, have fortunately been recovered after the TransAsia Airways crash.
According to TransAsia, they had already contacted relatives of all the 22 Taiwanese passengers. They are now trying to reach relatives of the Chinese nationals on board.
Meanwhile, TransAsia chief Chen Xinde also offered a "deep apology" during a televised news conference. However, he mentioned that his planes had been "under thorough scrutiny" since mid-2014.
"Both our planes and our flight safety system are following strict regulations, so we also want to know what caused the new plane model to crash, but I don't want to speculate," he said.
According to officials, the plane from the TransAsia Airways crash has joined the airline's September fleet and had completed a safety check on Jan. 26. Authorities also mentioned the pilot having more than 4,400 hours of flying experience. The co-pilot meanwhile, had more than 6,000 hours.
It is reportedly the second TransAsia Airways crash in seven months, The accident last July reportedly killed 48 people and injured 15. The reason for the crash was mainly stormy weather and low visibility.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
