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TransAsia GE235: Taiwan plane crash engines 'lost power' | TransAsia GE235: Taiwan plane crash engines 'lost power' |
(35 minutes later) | |
Black box data from the TransAsia Airlines turbo-prop plane that crashed in Taiwan has revealed that power was cut to both engines, investigators say. | |
Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council said the engines failed to produce enough thrust for two minutes after take-off. | Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council said the engines failed to produce enough thrust for two minutes after take-off. |
Data suggest that the flight crew tried to stop and restart one of the engines, without success. | |
Flight GE235 carried 58 passengers and crew, at least 35 of whom died when the plane crashed into a river. | |
Fifteen people survived the crash. | |
According to investigators at a briefing in Taipei, the plane ran into trouble just 37 seconds after taking off from Taipei's Songshan airport. | |
Thomas Wang, director of the Aviation Safety Council, said the pilot announced a "flame-out", which can occur when the fuel supply to the engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion. | |
However, he said there was no flame-out, and the right engine had actually shifted into idle mode without the oil pressure having changed. | |
"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 1,200ft, triggering a warning," AFP news agency quoted Mr Wang as saying. | |
"Then the other [left] 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. | |
The plane, which had been bound for Taiwan's Kinmen Island, crashed into the Keelung River just 72 seconds later. |