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| TransAsia ATR-600 aircraft. Photo: ATR |
[Avionics Today 02-09-2015] Information from the TransAsia flight GE235 Flight Data Recorder (FDR) suggests both engines on the ATR 72-600 had lost power, leading to the fatal, Feb. 4 crash.
Executive Director of Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council Thomas Wang spoke in Taipei, the site of the crash, on Friday, noting that the right Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127M turboprop engine autofeathered 37 seconds after takeoff. The aircraft could have stayed in the air with just one functioning engine, but the left engine was switched to idle just 27 seconds later. The pilots called for a restart, according to the report, but the plane crashed just three minutes after takeoff from the Taipei’s Songshan airport.
Rescue crews managed to save 15 people of the 58 on board from the wreckage, but at least 35 others perished.