TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, killing 47
(Reuters) - A TransAsia Airways turboprop plane crashed on its second attempt at landing during a thunderstorm on an island off Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people and setting buildings on fire, officials said.
The plane, a 70-seat ATR 72, crashed near the runway on the island of Penghu, west of the mainland, with 54 passengers and four crew on board, they said. No one was killed or hurt in the buildings.
Eleven injured people on the plane were taken to hospital, the government said.
The aircraft took off from Taiwan's southern city of Kaohsiung, headed for the island of Makong, but crash-landed in Huxi township of Penghu County, the main island of the chain also known as the Pescadores.
"It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash," said Hsi Wen-guang, a spokesman for the Penghu County Government Fire Bureau.
"From the crash site we sent 11 people to hospital with injuries. A few empty apartment buildings adjacent to the runway caught fire, but no one was inside at the time and the fire was extinguished." About 100 firefighters were sent to the scene, as well as 152 military personnel and 255 police, he added.
According to an official at the Civil Aeronautics Administration, air traffic control reported that the inclement weather at the time of the crash did not exceed international regulations for landing.
Visibility was 1,600 meters and the cloud cover was as low as 600 meters, added the official, who declined to be identified.
Television networks aired footage of TransAsia's president, Chooi Yee-choong, bowing in apology.
"We express our deepest apologies to everyone for this unfortunate event."
Typhoon Matmo hit Taiwan on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds, shutting financial markets and schools. It passed the island and headed into China, downgraded from typhoon to tropical storm.
TransAsia Airways is a Taiwan-based airline with a fleet of around 23 Airbus and ATR aircraft, operating chiefly short-haul flights on domestic routes as well as to mainlandChina, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, among its Asian destinations.
(Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Structure of the Lead：
WHO-not given
WHEN-Wednesday
WHAT-A TransAsia Airways turboprop plane crashed on its second attempt at landing during a thunderstorm on an island off Taiwan
WHY-a typhoon hit
WHERE-Penghu
HOW-killing 47 people and setting buildings on fire
Keywords：
1.turboprop:渦輪螺旋槳飛機
2.bureau:局
3.adjacent:相鄰
4.extinguish:熄滅
5.inclement:惡劣的
6.chiefly:主要是
7.short-haul:短途
8.domestic:國內的
It was a tragedy. But I think that the accident cannot be blamed for the air company. Because the weather was not bad enough like international regulations for landing to cancel the flight. And the fire was terrible , too. It would cause much damage than just a crush happened. Also, I want to advice that if should the weather be bad despite not that awful, the flight company can make a good decision. If the plane cannot land successfully, it may be a good choice to fly back.
回覆刪除It is sad to hear about the tragedy. 47 people were killed in this accident. It is said that it was because the bad weather that caused the disaster. The pilot had tried to land but failed. I think that we should put our life in the first concerned, since the weather was bad, the TransAsia shouldn't let the airplane take off. What really caused this accident is still unknown now, I hope the government could quickly find out the truth and those injured in the crash could come over quickly.
回覆刪除After seeing this sorrowful article,I felt so sad.When the tragedy happened,I saw many news about.It is said that the terrible weather caused the accident ,so I think the airline company should be more aware of the weather before the airplane takes off,and make sure it won't influence the airplane's flying channels.Hope the terrible tragedy won't happen again and the survivals can gradually conquer their tragic memories and everything could return to normal soon.
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