At least 40 dead as TransAsia Airways passenger jet GE222 crashes during emergency landing

TAIPEI: -- A PLANE making a second landing attempt in stormy weather has crashed at an airport on a small Taiwanese island, killing at least 40 people.

More than 40 people are feared dead in a plane crash in Taiwan, with witnesses and local media reporting the flight came down in a storm after an aborted landing.

Ten bodies had so far been recovered from the wreckage of the domestic flight, which had 58 people on board, said Taiwan's transport minister.

TransAsia Airways flight GE222 smashed into two houses near Magong airport, on the outlying Penghu island chain, after requesting a second attempt to land there, reported local media.

The twin turboprop plane was flying from the southwestern city of Kaohsiung to the island chain further west and had been delayed due to bad weather, according to the authorities.

Television images showed firefighters working in heavy rain to douse the mangled plane and soldiers on the scene.

"There were 58 people on board including four crew members, four children and, so far, according to the information we have, 12 were injured and were sent to hospitals while 46 were missing," transport minister Yeh Kuang-shih told reporters.

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/at-least-51-feared-dead-as-taiwanese-passenger-jet-crashes-on-emergency-landing/story-fnizu68q-1226999360321


-- News.com.au 2014-07-24

ACCIDENT
At Least 51 Dead in plane crash in Taiwan


Photo : Apple Daily

BANGKOK: -- At least 51 passengers died after a Taiwanese TransAsia Airways plane made an emergency landing at a village in Penghu county amid stormy weather, reported Taiwan's Central News Agency on Wednesday.

Flight GE222 left Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport at 5pm and was scheduled to land in Penghu’s Magong Airport at 5.30pm. According to the Central Weather Bureau, the island of Penghu was in the area battered by Typhoon Matmo, which brought an onslaught of heavy rain throughout the evening.

The plane, carrying 54 passengers and four crew members, reportedly caught fire after it landed at the end of the runway. Seven passengers have been sent to the local hospital with burn injuries.

An amateur video, obtained by Taiwan’s Apple Daily news, shows the wreckage caused by the plane ramming into two homes after leaving the runway. In it, the videographer points out where the plane first hit and zooms out to show the plane’s trajectory.

After Plane Crashes During Emergency Landing in Taiwan

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/At-Least-51-Dead-in-plane-crash-in-Taiwan-30239311.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-24