Dozens dead as TransAsia Airways plane crashes in Taiwan during botched emergency landing
Posted Jul 23, 2014 9:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A plane carrying 58 people has crashed in Taiwan while trying to make an emergency landing on the smaller, less-populated island of Penghu.
Reports indicate 51 people died in the crash, but Taiwan’s transportation minister pegs that number at 47.
It happened Wednesday evening as the twin-engine turboprop was in the midst of a maneuver known as a go-around.
Weather was bad at the time as the area had just been pounded by a typhoon and had been dealing with heavy rain, strong winds and limited visibility.
In a statement from the Civil Aeronautics Administration, director Jean Shen says the tower lost contact with the plane while it was 300 feet in the air.
Residents reported seeing a large, orange fireball as the ATR 72 slammed into homes near the Magong Airport.
“The turboprop ATR 72, which took off at 5:43 p.m. from Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, was 14 years old,” Shen said.
Two hundred first responders, 10 ambulances and 2 fire engines were on scene shortly after the crash combing through the wreckage while looking for dozens of missing people.
Pictures across social media show many of those on scene are armed with flashlights sifting through the wreckage.
The Aviation Safety Council has called an emergency meeting to look into the cause of the crash.
