Why let doomed plane fly in storm? Relatives berate air chiefs over Taiwan crash
Aviation officials say decision to take off for Penghu despite bad weather was in hands of pilot
Bereaved relatives of passengers killed when a TransAsia Airways plane crashed on Taiwan's resort island of Penghu on Wednesday night have one question: who gave the go-ahead for it to take off in bad weather?
Forty-eight people died when the ATR-72 twin-engine turboprop short-haul plane, carrying 54 passengers and four crew members, ploughed into a village and burst into flames while trying to land. The 10 survivors, seven of whom managed to claw their way out of the wreckage, sustained injuries ranging from serious burns to broken bones.
Video: Investigation underway after 48 killed in Taiwan plane crash
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) was under mounting criticism yesterday for permitting flight GE222 to take off despite bad weather. Initial findings blamed a failed emergency landing due to poor visibility for the crash.
"Didn't you realise that Penghu was still under the influence of Typhoon Matmo, and why on earth was the plane permitted to fly?" shouted one relative at Taipei's domestic Sungshan airport as he and two other relatives waited to board a flight to Magong in Penghu.