The right engine of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 triggered an alarm and then went idle 37 seconds after the plane took off from Taipei's airport, Taiwan Aviation Safety Council head Thomas Wang said Friday, citing preliminary findings from the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Another 46 seconds after that, the pilots apparently revved down the left engine in an attempt to restart both motors. Unfortunately, 72 seconds after that, the plane crashed into Taipei's Keelung River.
At least 35 of the 58 people on board died, including the pilot, who was reportedly found clutching the flight controls. Eight people are missing, and 15 survived the crash. The right engine did not "flame out," as the pilot said in his mayday call, meaning fuel wasn't getting to the engine or it failed to combust, Wang said, and the black boxes will be analyzed in greater detail to try to figure out what went wrong. "It's only the third day so we can't say too much," he said. "We haven't ruled anything out."
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