Litany of errors led to TransAsia Airways crash in Taiwan that killed 43: report

Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council on Thursday said pilot error was to blame for a TransAsia Airways crash that killed 43 people in February last year.

The council’s final report also faulted the airline for failing to observe standard flight operation and safety procedures.

Its failures included allowing the pilot to fly despite knowing that he had a history of making verbal mistakes when nervous.

Pilot in crashed TransAsia flight shut down plane’s only working engine by mistake: Taiwan probe

Flight GE235, bound for the island of Quemoy, crashed into the Keelung River in Taipei on February 4 last year, less than three minutes after take-off from Taipei Songshan Airport.

The investigation by the council, which has taken more than a year, found the pilots made a series of mistakes.

Both the pilot and co-pilot failed to follow correct emergency procedures and this resulted in the crash of the ATR72-600 aircraft, it said.

“The pilot probably was out of his mind when the accident took place,” council chairman Hwung Hweng-hwung told a news ­conference.

Fifty-three passengers and five crew were on board the plane. Forty-three of them, including 26 tourists from the mainland, were killed when the plane hit a bridge and crashed into the river, brushing a taxi on its way.