Pilot error is almost certainly the cause of the crash of the TransAsia Flight GE235 an ATR72 that killed 35 on Tuesday February 4 in Taiwan.
The Cockpit Voice Recorder has revealed that the pilots shut down the wrong engine after suffering an engine failure just 37 seconds after take-off.
At 37 seconds into the flight a Master Warning activated related to the failure of the right engine but just a few seconds later the left hand engine was throttled back.
The crew then tried to restart the good engine but initially with success. It appears that it did finally restart but it was too late.
Fifty eight passengers and crew were aboard flight GE235 when it crashed into the Keelung river at 10.56am local time and only 15 survived. Flight GE235 took off at 10.52am local time from Taipei Songshan Airport and was headed to Kinmen Airport on the outskirts of Taiwan.
Terrifying footage from a car dash cam shows the aircraft hitting a road bridge before ploughing into the river.
In July 2014 another incident involving a TransAsia ATR-72 caused the death of 48 people when it crashed amid stormy weather in Taiwan’s Penghu archipelago.
In the previous 20 years the airline has suffered six crashes of which four involved fatalities.
Privately owned TransAsia was formed in 1951 and mainly flies domestic services but has recently expended to some international destinations
Thomas Wang, executive director of Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council, said it was unclear why the left engine had been turned off.
Mr Wang added it was too early to draw firm conclusions but told the BBC that the pilots had followed normal procedure. “It’s only the third day so we can’t say too much,” he told the BBC. “We haven’t ruled anything out.”
The BBC is reporting that Taiwan’s aviation regulator has ordered thorough engine and fuel system checks on the remaining 22 ATR-manufactured aircraft currently in active service on the island.
