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| At Least 19 Killed After Plane Crashes Into River in Taiwan | |
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| HONG KONG — A passenger plane crashed into a river in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Rescue operations were underway to pull survivors from the water. | HONG KONG — A passenger plane crashed into a river in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, shortly after takeoff on Wednesday morning, killing at least 19 people, officials said. Rescue operations were underway to pull survivors from the water. |
| The plane, a TransAsia Airways twin turboprop flying as Flight 235, had just left Taipei Songshan Airport bound for nearby Kinmen, an island just off the mainland Chinese province of Fujian, Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration said. Fifty-three passengers and five crew members were aboard, the agency said. | The plane, a TransAsia Airways twin turboprop flying as Flight 235, had just left Taipei Songshan Airport bound for nearby Kinmen, an island just off the mainland Chinese province of Fujian, Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration said. Fifty-three passengers and five crew members were aboard, the agency said. |
| At least 19 people were killed, with 15 others injured and 24 still unaccounted for, the agency said early Wednesday evening. | At least 19 people were killed, with 15 others injured and 24 still unaccounted for, the agency said early Wednesday evening. |
| Dramatic images taken from car dashboard cameras and posted online showed the plane flying low over an elevated highway, its left wing clipping the road before it crashed into the river. The plane struck a taxi, injuring two people inside, the Taipei government said. | Dramatic images taken from car dashboard cameras and posted online showed the plane flying low over an elevated highway, its left wing clipping the road before it crashed into the river. The plane struck a taxi, injuring two people inside, the Taipei government said. |
| Local television showed the plane’s white and purple fuselage resting in the Keelung River in eastern Taipei, as rescuers in inflatable boats searched for survivors. | Local television showed the plane’s white and purple fuselage resting in the Keelung River in eastern Taipei, as rescuers in inflatable boats searched for survivors. |
| Rescuers were having difficulty reaching the submerged parts of the plane, a city government statement quoted Hsu Ching-sheng, a deputy fire chief, as saying. Because the plane traveled some distance after striking the road, emergency responders have had to expand their search area to account for the possibility that people were thrown from the plane, Mr. Hsu added. | Rescuers were having difficulty reaching the submerged parts of the plane, a city government statement quoted Hsu Ching-sheng, a deputy fire chief, as saying. Because the plane traveled some distance after striking the road, emergency responders have had to expand their search area to account for the possibility that people were thrown from the plane, Mr. Hsu added. |
| Shortly before the crash, a pilot indicated an engine problem, according to a recording of the plane’s communication with air traffic control posted to a monitoring site. “Mayday, mayday. Engine flameout,” the pilot said. | Shortly before the crash, a pilot indicated an engine problem, according to a recording of the plane’s communication with air traffic control posted to a monitoring site. “Mayday, mayday. Engine flameout,” the pilot said. |
| TransAsia Airways executives bowed in apology at a news conference Wednesday afternoon but offered no explanations as to what might have caused the crash. | TransAsia Airways executives bowed in apology at a news conference Wednesday afternoon but offered no explanations as to what might have caused the crash. |
| The crash was the second for TransAsia in just over six months, following a crash in July that killed 48 people, and it seemed likely to raise further questions about the airline’s safety. The cause of the July crash is still under investigation; that plane, an ATR-72, was attempting to land at Magong, in Taiwan’s Penghu Islands, as Typhoon Matmo brought heavy rain and strong winds to the region. | The crash was the second for TransAsia in just over six months, following a crash in July that killed 48 people, and it seemed likely to raise further questions about the airline’s safety. The cause of the July crash is still under investigation; that plane, an ATR-72, was attempting to land at Magong, in Taiwan’s Penghu Islands, as Typhoon Matmo brought heavy rain and strong winds to the region. |
| The plane that crashed Wednesday, a French- and Italian-built ATR 72-600 similar to the model that crashed last year, was just over a year old, and it had gone into service in April 2014, TransAsia said. | The plane that crashed Wednesday, a French- and Italian-built ATR 72-600 similar to the model that crashed last year, was just over a year old, and it had gone into service in April 2014, TransAsia said. |
| An airline official said at a news conference on Wednesday that the plane’s left engine had been replaced last year in Macau. The left Pratt & Whitney engine on the crashed plane had flown for more than 800 hours, while the right engine had flown for more than 1,000, the company said. | An airline official said at a news conference on Wednesday that the plane’s left engine had been replaced last year in Macau. The left Pratt & Whitney engine on the crashed plane had flown for more than 800 hours, while the right engine had flown for more than 1,000, the company said. |
| The pilot, 42, had 4,914 hours of flying time, including 3,400 on ATR-72 model planes, while the co-pilot, 45, had 6,922 hours of flight time, including 6,500 on ATR-72s, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said. | The pilot, 42, had 4,914 hours of flying time, including 3,400 on ATR-72 model planes, while the co-pilot, 45, had 6,922 hours of flight time, including 6,500 on ATR-72s, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said. |
| TransAsia flies chiefly to Taiwan and mainland China, as well as destinations in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Cambodia. The Taipei-Kinmen route, which takes just over an hour, is flown daily by TransAsia and is popular among the increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, as well as business travelers from Taiwan flying to the mainland. | TransAsia flies chiefly to Taiwan and mainland China, as well as destinations in Japan, Thailand, South Korea and Cambodia. The Taipei-Kinmen route, which takes just over an hour, is flown daily by TransAsia and is popular among the increasing number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan, as well as business travelers from Taiwan flying to the mainland. |
| The local news media reported that 31 of the passengers on the plane Wednesday were mainland Chinese who had come to Taiwan on group tours. | The local news media reported that 31 of the passengers on the plane Wednesday were mainland Chinese who had come to Taiwan on group tours. |
| Taiwan once had a notoriously poor air safety record, but it has improved in recent years, with last year’s Penghu crash the first deadly accident in 12 years. | Taiwan once had a notoriously poor air safety record, but it has improved in recent years, with last year’s Penghu crash the first deadly accident in 12 years. |