Taiwan pilot praised as a hero as search continues (video, photos) (UPDATED)

Aviation efforts say the pilot of the ill-fated TransAsia ATR 72-600 apparently steered away from populated areas before the crash. Meanwhile, 31 are confirmed dead with 16 survivors.

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Here is the latest as of 11:00 Thursday

Taiwan pilot hailed as a hero as search for missing continues.

Taipei, Feb 5, AFP –Taiwan rescuers scoured a river for 12 people still missing from a TransAsia plane crash Thursday as the pilot was hailed as a hero for apparently battling to avoid hitting built-up areas shortly after issuing a "mayday" call.

Hundreds of rescuers in boats, as well as divers and soldiers mounted the search in the chilly waters, as the death toll rose to 31 with more bodies located including those of the pilot and co-pilot, authorities said.

The TransAsia ATR 72-600 crashed shortly after take-off from Songshan airport in northern Taipei Wednesday, hitting an elevated road as it banked sideways towards the Keelung River, leaving a trail of debris including a smashed taxi.

The pilot was applauded by aviation experts for apparently steering the plane away from populated areas and high-rise buildings to avoid causing more damage with the aircraft which had 53 passengers and five crew on board.

"Based on the flight path, the pilot deviated and tried to avoid obstacles. The pilot apparently made a conscious effort to avoid further and unnecessary casualties by ditching in the river. It was a very courageous move," Hong Kong-based aviation analyst Daniel Tsang told AFP.

Tales of miracle escapes emerged, as television footage showed a father cuddling his toddler son as they were taken to shore by boat after being rescued Wednesday.

Together with the child's mother, the family had switched seats on the plane "out of a hunch" that saved their lives, the United Daily News said.

"The family originally sat in the heavily damaged left side but Lin Ming-wei felt uneasy after he heard noises before taking-off and requested to switch seats," the report quoted Dai Bi-chin, a friend of the family, as saying after visiting them in hospital.

Their new seats put them next to a crack in the plane after it crashed, and the newspaper said Lin was able to pull his wife to safety and then revive his son after spotting him in the water, blue and unresponsive.

The Civil Aeronautics Administration has grounded a total of 22 ATR planes from two Taiwanese airlines for safety checks after the accident on a domestic route to the island of Kinmen – the second fatal crash for TransAsia after 48 people were killed in July.

"This morning we have some 60 divers going underwater to search" in addition to 20 boats scouring the river, said Liu Yung-chou, an official from the national fire agency which is coordinating the rescue operation.

Desperate crew shouted "Mayday! Mayday! Engine flameout!" as the plane plunged out of the sky, according to a recording thought to be the final message from the cockpit to the control tower played on local television.

THURSDAY MORNING UPDATE: AFP reports that the death toll has risen to 25 (now 31) and will likely go higher. There are 16 survivors so far and 12 are missing.

The rescue operation continued into the night with a crane liftiing the rear and central sections of the plane from the water, with one body retrieved from inside. The front part, where 17 people are believed to be trapped, was still in the water.

WEDNESDAY EVENING UPDATE: Out of the 53 passengers and 5 crew on board the aircraft, there are reported to be 20 deaths and 15 survivors found up to now but no survivors have been found for several hours. The driver of the taxi that the airplane clipped as it crashed into the river is in the hospital with a head injury but in a stable condition. The pilot of the aircraft reportedly alerted air traffic control about an engine flameout but the cause of the crash is not yet known.  This crash is TransAsia's second accident in seven months with the last crash resulting in 48 fatalities out of the 58 passengers on board. (Source: Guardian live news glog here).

AIR TRAVEL

At least 2 dead in TransAsia crash

4/02/2015

AP News agency

TAIPEI — A Taiwanese commercial flight with 53 passengers aboard clipped a bridge shortly after takeoff and crashed into a river in the island's capital of Taipei on Wednesday morning.

Still images from a dashboard video camera posted to Twitter by Taiwanese user Missxoxo168 showing the crash of the TransAsia turboprop.

Reuters reported that at least two people were killed. Taiwan's Central News Agency said at least 10 people were being taking to safety after the incident but gave no immediate information about the other passengers and crew aboard the TransAsia Airways flight.

Taiwanese media posted pictures of the plane in the water several dozen metres from the shore in the Keelung River.

CNA said the flight from Taipei to the outlying island of Kinmen lost contact with flight controllers at 10:55 a.m. and the fuselage landed in the Keelung River near the city's downtown Sungshan airport.

The plane was identified as a French-made twin-engine turboprop ATR 72 with a two-pilot air crew.

The plane's fuselage was seen half-submerged in the shallow river, with passengers and rescuers standing on the hull and swimming in the water.

The accident comes just months after a TransAsia ATR-72 crashed while attempting to land on the island of Penghu off Taiwan's coast, killing 48 people and injuring another 10. Stormy weather and low visibility were suspected as factors in that crash last July. [See Guardian live blogging of news event here]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/466177/at-least-2-dead-in-transasia-crash

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