Engine failure, errors by crew led to Taiwan crash: report

PanARMENIAN.Net - A plane crash in Taiwan that killed 43 people when a passenger jet plunged into a river was caused by engine failure and flight crew errors, a damning final investigation report found, according to AFP.

TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 clipped a bridge and plunged into a river shortly after take-off from Taipei's Songshan airport last February with 53 passengers and five crew on board. Only 15 people survived.

Earlier findings by the Aviation Safety Council last year revealed the pilot had shut down the only working engine, exclaiming: "Wow, pulled back wrong throttle," seconds before the crash.

The council released the final, more detailed, investigation report Thursday, June 30, which says the accident "was the result of many contributing factors, which culminated in a stall-induced loss of control."

One of the engines was malfunctioning shortly after the plane took off, AFP says citing the report.

"The flight crew did not perform the documented abnormal and emergency procedures to identify the failure and implement the required corrective actions," it said.

This led the pilot to shut down the other engine, the report added.

The pilot had previously failed a simulator test for engine failure on take-off, but passed on a retake.