Flight GE235, the TransAsia plane that crashed from Taiwan, was recovered together with its black box data recorders. The plane crashed on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, after the pilot radioed the control tower saying "mayday, mayday, mayday."
The crash was captured on video by a driver who was driving along National freeway No. 1 in Teipei, Taiwan. The video shows the TransAsia plane on its side, slightly hitting a taxi cab, and grazing the side of a bridge. It has been speculated that the pilot tried to avoid the residential building around the area, which were not harmed at all. Aside from the passengers on the plane, the driver of the taxi cab and the passengers in it were also injured by the plane crash, CNN reported.
Reuters reports that the black boxes of the French-Italian-built ATR 72-600 aircraft has been found. However, no information on the contents of the data recorders yet.
The incident with Flight GE 235 is still under investigation. The current inquiries reveal that the TransAsia plane might have been experiencing engine failure before the crash. According to Yahoo News, a control recording has surfaced and has been broadcasted on liveatc.net. The recording is a playback of the pilot contacting the control tower after the plane had tipped to its side. The alleged pilot can be heard saying, "Mayday, Mayday. Engine flameout." An engine flame out usually occurs when the feul supply is interrupted or there is a fautly combustion.
It is intersting to note, though, that airplanes with twin engines can usually still fly if one engine fails. In the case of the ATR 72-600 plane, it has twin PW127M engines designed by Pratt and Whitney, a commercial engine company which is part of United Technologies.
Taiwan's head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Lin Tyh-ming, has said that the plane used for Flight GE235 went through maintenance on January 26, 2015. Tyh-ming also stated that the pilot of the TransAsia plane had over 4,916 hours worth of experience, while the co-pilot had an experience of over 6,922 hours.
CNN notes that according to CNA at least 32 out of 58 passengers have been confirmed dead, while 15 have been rescued from the Keelung River, where the TransAsia plane crashed. All survivors have sustained injuries. There are still 11 missing from the crash.
According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, there were 31 passengers from China. The Gaurdian has reported that these Chinese passengers booked the flight through two travel angencies: Teyung Group and Flying Tours. Flying Tours has confirmed that only one out of the 15 passengers that booked Flight GE235 through their angency has been found injured. The passenger is one of the two infants recorded to be on board.
