Thursday, February 5, 2015

Hero TransAsia pilot cried 'mayday' as he avoided buildings, landed in Taiwan river: 'He really tried everything he could'

Hero TransAsia pilot cried 'mayday' as he avoided buildings, landed in Taiwan river: 'He really tried everything he could'

TransAsia pilot Liao Chien-tsung sent a distress signal as he narrowly avoided buildings and crashed the doomed Flight GE235 into a Taiwan river, cockpit audio recorded. The crash killed at least 32 people, including the pilot, but Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and survivors called the pilot a hero for avoiding a bigger disaster.

 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
 
Thursday, February 5, 2015, 7:29 AM
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A group of relatives gathers to pray next to the recovered wreckage of the TransAsia Flight GE235.
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  • A general view shows the crashed Transasia plane wreckage being lifted in New Taipei City on February 5, 2015. Taiwan rescuers scoured a river for 12 people still missing from a TransAsia plane crash as the pilot was hailed as a hero for apparently battling to avoid hitting built-up areas shortly after issuing a "mayday" call. AFP PHOTO / Sam YehSAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images
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  • Rescue personnel carry a passenger from a TransAsia ATR 72-600 turboprop plane that crash-landed into a river outside Taiwan's capital Taipei on a stretcher in New Taipei City on February 4, 2015. The passenger plane with 58 people on board was on a domestic flight when it plunged into the river, with at least 10 people rescued and dozens trapped inside, according to television reports. AFP PHOTO / SAM YEHSAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images
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  • epa04603289 A policeman takes photo of passengers' luggage recovered from a TransAsia Airways passenger plane which crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei, Taiwan, 04 February 2015. At least 23 people were killed when a passenger plane with 58 people on board crashed into a river after hitting a bridge in the Taiwanese capital. Several people were still unaccounted for. The twin-engine ATR 72 turboprop crashed shortly after takeoff from Taipei's Songshan Airport, en route to Kinmen Island, with 53 passengers and five crew, state-run Central News Agency reported. EPA/DAVID CHANG
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  • ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUAL COVERAGE OF SCENES OF INJURY OR DEATH
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  • REFILE - CORRECTING GRAMMAR
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STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The hero TransAsia pilot who avoided smashing into buildings by flying his failing plane into a Taiwan river signaled distress just before the disaster, cockpit audio recorded.
At least 32 of the 58 people on board died when Flight GE235 clipped a highway overpass and sailed into the Keelung River in New Taipei City Wednesday. Fifteen people were rescued, leaving 12 people missing.
Pilot Liao Chien-tsung and his unidentified copilot are among the dead, Taiwan's aviation regulator said.
Cockpit recordings showed Liao cried “mayday, mayday, engine flameout!” just before impact, USA Today reported.
"He really tried everything he could," Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said of Liao, his voice breaking with sobs.
TransAsia flight clips highway, crashes into Taiwan river (HD)
NY Daily News
Dramatic video showed the crashing plane’s wing hit a taxi on the road. The driver and his passenger were majorly injured —but they were the only two hurt on the ground.
Taiwanese media reported that it appeared Liao, who had nearly 5,000 hours of flying under his belt, had fought desperately to steer his aircraft between apartment blocks and commercial buildings.
"The pilot's immediate reaction saved many people," said Chris Lin, brother of one of the survivors.
The cause of the crash has not been determined. A flameout — the pilot’s final call over the radio — can occur when the fuel supply to an engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion, but twin-engined aircraft can usually keep flying with one engine.
DAVID CHANG/EPAA man consoles two women at the funeral for victims of the TransAsia Airways plane crash.
Rescue teams continued their hunt for the missing dozen Thursday, but officials said they expect the death toll to rise.
"At the moment, things don't look too optimistic," Taipei Fire Department official Wu Jun-hong told reporters at the scene Wednesday. "Those in the front of the plane are likely to have lost their lives."
Many of the passengers on the Taipei-to-Kinmen Island flight were from mainland China.
A TransAsia official said the airline would give the families of those killed $38,198 for funeral expenses and $6,345 to each of the injured.
Fruits, flowers and lanterns are arranged a funeral for victims of the TransAsia Airways plane crash in Taipei, Taiwan.
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  • epa04604059 Fruits, flowers and lanterns are arranged for the funeral for victims of the TransAsia Airways plane crash at the No 2 Funeral Parlour in Taipei, Taiwan, 05 February 2015. TransAsia Airways flight GE235 carrying 53 passengers and five crew members on board crashed into a river after hitting a bridge shortly after taking off from a Taipei airport on 04 February, killing at least 31 people. While the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were retrieved from the wreckage of the plane, as media reported on 05 February, another 12 people are still missing. EPA/DAVID CHANG
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  • MANDATORY CREDIT: TVBS TAIWAN, TAIWAN OUT
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DAVID CHANG/EPA
The Wednesday crash the second in a little more than six months for privately-held TransAsia. Another ATR-72 crashed on final approach to Taiwan's Penghu Islands in July, killing 48 people and injuring 10.
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