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Andrea Chen

Sijia Jiang

The captain of the TransAsia aircraft that crashed into a river in Taipei in February, killing 43 people, shut down the plane's only working engine by mistake after the other had failed, a report by accident investigators confirmed on Thursday.
"Wow, pulled back the wrong side throttle," Captain Liao Chien-tsung was heard saying on flight recorders eight seconds before the crash, the report by Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council said.
Liao was initially hailed a hero for steering the aircraft away from buildings.
His training records released by the council showed that he had failed a simulator check during his test for promotion to captain last year due to "insufficient knowledge" of engine flameout.
But the council did not apportion any blame in its report.
WATCH: The moment TransAsia GE235 hits bridge and crashes in Taiwan

A Hong Kong-based pilot told the South China Morning Post that TransAsia had tested all pilots on the handling of engine failure since the crash and 30 per cent failed. Those who failed would receive more training and be retested. He said pilots were supposed to turn off a failed engine to secure it.
The passenger flight GE 235, an ATR72-600, clipped a bridge and crashed into the Keelung River with 58 people on board, including 31 from the mainland, just minutes after taking off from Taipei Songshan Airport.
Among the dead were the captain and the co-pilot. Thirteen passengers and one cabin crew member sustained serious injuries. The other person on board suffered only minor injuries. Two people on the ground - a taxi driver and his female passenger - suffered minor injuries.
Investigators' preliminary reports released days after the crash had suggested an engine was manually shut down after the other had malfunctioned and stopped working.
The most recent report revealed confusion in the cockpit after the dashboard warned of "flameout" in engine two about one minute after take-off.

The captain disengaged the autopilot seconds later. "Pull back number one [engine]," the captain was heard saying while the co-pilot confirmed the other engine had suffered a flameout.
The pilots were then heard checking the malfunctioning engine and adjusting the power in the other one as the plane descended, but neither immediately noticed when the still-functioning engine shut down.
When the captain did notice, he attempted to restart the engine but failed. At this point the first officer, in the cockpit as part of his training, said: "Impact, impact, brace for impact."
Seconds later the plane crashed.
The council found Liao had performed poorly when dealing with an engine flameout during a simulator check in May 2014. He passed the test on his second attempt a month later and was promoted to captain.
His instructors described his performance during the oral exam as nervous, unconfident, and indecisive when tested on handling such emergencies.
The full investigation report will be released next April.
 


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

TransAsia Airways plane forced to land on one engine months after another of its aircraft crashed on same island in Taiwan

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

Two more bodies recovered from crash site of TransAsia Flight GE235 in Taipei

TransAsia Airways Flight GE235

The airliner clipping a bridge seconds before the crash in February. Photo: SCMP Pictures

TransAsia pilots 'shut off second engine' in possible 'error' that may have led to fatal crash

Thomas Wang (right), executive director of the Aviation Safety Council, standing behind a black box, reveals initial findings from the crash. Photo: EPA

Taiwan crash puts ATR 72-600 airliner back in the spotlight

The ATR-72, which made its maiden flight in October 1988, has been involved in 15 accidents since 1994.

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China

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Official report confirms that the crash that left 43 people dead was caused by an engine malfunctioning and a pilot mistakenly shutting down the other


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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Official report confirms that the crash that left 43 people dead was caused by an engine malfunctioning and a pilot mistakenly shutting down the other

Official report confirms that the crash that left 43 people dead was caused by an engine malfunctioning and a pilot mistakenly shutting down the other