TransAsia Pilots Called Mayday Two Minutes After Takeoff
"Mayday, mayday, engine flameout," a male voice said, two minutes after a female controller cleared flight 235, according to an archived recording on LiveATC.net. Though the controller responded immediately, nothing further could be heard from the pilots, according to the recording. LiveATC.net is a website supported by users and advertising, relying on volunteers to post air-traffic control audio transmissions. At least 23 people died while 16 of the 58 people aboard the ATR72 twin turboprop aircraft survived after it crashed into the Taiwanese capital's Keelung River yesterday. The crash is the second for the Taipei-based carrier in less than a year after a similar aircraft type went off course and hit houses on the outlying island of Penghu. Taiwanese air crash investigators were unable to immediately verify the pilot's final words and will await a review of the cockpit voice recorder before commenting further, Aviation Safety Council spokesman Thomas Wang said by phone. TransAsia also declined to comment. Flight 235 had taken off from Songshan airport in downtown Taipei on an hour-long flight to the island of Kinmen off mainland China. The pilot lost contact with the ground within four minutes, said TransAsia Chief Executive Officer Peter Chen said. Footage taken from a dashboard-mounted camera in a car showed the plane's wings tilted at a steep angle as it swerved over an elevated highway, with one tip clipping a taxi and the railing before plunging into the Keelung River. Two people in the taxi suffered injuries, the city government said. Two tour groups from mainland China with 31 members were aboard the plane made by Toulouse, France-based ATR, Kazinform refers to Bloomberg.com
