Pilots of a fatal July 23
TransAsia Airways Corp. (6702) flight couldn’t find the runway seconds
before their aircraft crashed on Taiwan’s outlying Penghu islands,
killing 48 people, according to an accident report published today.
“Have
you seen the runway?” the captain of flight GE222 asked his first
officer in Mandarin as their aircraft approached Magong Airport. “No,”
the first officer responded clearly after nine seconds. The cockpit
voice recording ended 12 seconds later, a transcript of the tape shows.
Ten
people survived when the domestic flight from Taiwan’s southern
Kaohsiung Airport hit houses in Penghu’s Xixi Village near the runway.
The report is a factual account and doesn’t draw any conclusion or lay
blame for the crash, Aviation Safety Council spokeswoman Sherry Liu said
in an interview.
A draft assessment is expected to be completed
in June with the final report to be published in October, the council
said in a press statement today.
The two pilots of the ATR 72-500
twin-engine turbo-propeller aircraft knew that weather conditions fell
below minimum requirements required to land at Magong when they took off
from Kaohsiung at 5:45 p.m. on July 23, the council said. The same
pilots had flown from Magong to Kaohsiung earlier in the day, it said.
The
domestic flight usually takes 35 minutes, according to schedules posted
on the Kaohsiung airport Website. Typhoon Matmo passed Taiwan earlier
that day and had reached coastal China by early afternoon.
Thunderstorms
About
26 minutes after takeoff, flight GE222 was put in a holding pattern for
34 minutes during which time air traffic control reported wind
conditions that would provide a headwind for aircraft landing at
south-facing Runway 20, according to today’s statement. Aircraft usually
takeoff and land into a headwind because it provides more lift at
slower speeds.
At 6:21 p.m., while GE222 was flying circles in
the skies between Penghu and mainland Taiwan, aircraft were advised that
thunderstorms around Magong would likely continue for another hour. The
thunderstorm warning was repeated 20 minutes later.
While wind
conditions pointed to Runway 20, the pilots twice requested permission
to land at the opposing north-facing Runway 02, which would give them a
tailwind. Runway 02 has an advanced Instrument Landing System, or ILS,
which assists pilots to fly the correct direction, altitude and glide
slope. Their requests weren’t approved by Taiwan’s military, which also
operates at the airport.
Runway 02
At 7:03 p.m.,
one hour and 48 minutes after takeoff and with the pilots established
on their final approach path, GE222 was given permission to land at
Runway 20 which has more basic navigation systems than Runway 02. That
clearance was given six minutes after a similar aircraft operated by UNI
Air landed successfully on the same Runway 20, the report shows. The
UNI Air flight had also requested Runway 02 and didn’t get approval.
At
7:05 and 54 seconds, two minutes after getting landing clearance, GE222
passed below 200 feet and reached a critical moment called Missed
Approach Point, at which pilots are required to discontinue the landing
and execute a go around if they can’t see a prescribed visual reference,
usually the runway.
Unseen Runway
Four seconds later Captain Lee Yi-lian, with almost 23,000 hours of flight time, asked his fateful question.
In
the seconds it took for the aircraft to climb, bank sharply to the left
and then point nose down, first officer Chiang Kuan-hsing replied in
the negative.
“No,” Captain Lee echoed.
“No, sir,” his first officer repeated.
Four seconds later flight GE222, with 58 people on board, had descended to 72 feet, barely above the height of nearby trees.
“Go
around,” they both called, boosting the engines’ throttle just seconds
before the cockpit voice recorder captured an unidentified sound. Flight
data shows an engine had slowed and the pitot tube, which sits on the
outside of the plane and is used to measure airspeed, had been broken.
“Go around, go around,” the first officer radioed to the Magong control tower in English. “Roger,” came the reply.
Less than a second later, a final unidentified sound was heard before the voice recorder fell silent at 7:06 p.m.
Source: http://www.bloomberg.com
NTSB Identification: ENG14WA021
Accident occurred Wednesday, July 23, 2014 in Makung, Taiwan
Aircraft: ATR 72-500, registration:
Injuries: 58 Fatal.
The foreign authority was the source of this information.
The
Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan provided this information: On July
23, 2014, an ATR 72-212A, registered B-22810, operated by Transasia,
took off from Kaohsiung bound for Magong. The crew was directed to enter
a holding pattern because of reported visibility under VOR minima on
the airfield and then was vectored as the visibility was reported to
1600m. The crew started the VOR DME to runway 20 and started the
descent. Heavy showers were reported around the airfield during the
final approach. The aircraft impacted trees located about 850m North
east of the runway axis and finally impacted a block of house around
730m east of the threshold 20.
The Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan, Republic of China, is investigating the accident.
All inquiries concerning this accident should be directed to the Aviation Safety Council of Taiwan at:
Aviation Safety Council
11 Floor, No. 200, Sec.3, Beixin Rd.,
Xindian City, New Taipei County 231,
Taiwan, Republic of China
Website: URL:www.asc.gov.tw
Phone: 886-935628217 or 886-289127388
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