Taiwan Cargo Plane down 13,000 Feet in 35 Seconds before Crashing

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, December 22, 2002

Taiwan Cargo Plane down 13,000 Feet in 35 Seconds before Crashing

A Taiwan TransAsia Airways' cargo plane had descended 13,000 feet in just 35 seconds before it crashed into the sea early Saturday en route to Macao and its two pilots remained missing, Taiwan media reported.

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Taiwan cargo plane crashes

A Taiwan TransAsia Airways' cargo plane had descended 13,000 feet in just 35 seconds before it crashed, Taiwan media reported.

The ART72-200 TransAsia cargo plane crashed into the sea near Makung Airport, Penghu County, early Saturday en route to Macao, and its two pilots were still missing.

Kay Yong, managing director of the Aviation Safety Council (ASC), revealed the conversations between the pilots and the control tower, saying that the pilot had asked to descend from 18,000 feet to 16,000 feet at 1:51:50 a.m. (17:51:50 GMT Friday). However, the plane eventually descended 13,000 feet in 35 seconds from 1:52:11 a.m. (17:52:11 GMT) to 1:52:46 a.m. (17:52:46 GMT).

The plane disappeared from radar screens about an hour after taking off from Taipei International Airport, some 40 kilometers south of Taipei, at 1: 05 a.m. (17:05 GMT). It was carrying about six tons of goods, including some electronics products.

According to CAA data, the plane was flying at an altitude of 18,000 feet (5,486 meters) before it crashed into the sea. The plane lost contact with the CAA's flight control center at 1:52 a.m. (17:52 GMT) and disappeared from radar screens at 2:07 a.m. (18:07 GMT).

CAA data shows that the pilot had asked to descend to an altitude of 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) shortly before the crash.

Rescue teams have found small pieces of wreckage of the plane in water some 27.4 kilometers, or 15 nautical miles, off Makung, and are continuing searching for the two missing men.

Two pilots were still missing

"We have found some small pieces of wreckage that belong to the ATR72-200 cargo plane in waters some 27.4 kilometers, or 15 nautical miles, off Makung, Penghu County," Chang Kuo-cheng, director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) was quoted by the local media as saying.

The recovered wreckage included parts of the wings, Chang said, adding that military rescue helicopters and naval vessels were searching the waters near Penghu island off Taiwan's southwestern coast in the Taiwan Strait.

"At the moment, we are focusing on searching for the plane's crew," Chang said. The two missing men were identified as the 53-year-old pilot Pan Teh-chung and co-pilot Liu Ching-hai, 34.

In addition to the wreckage, some items carried by the plane, including fabrics, blankets and flight manuals, had also been discovered in waters some 11 kilometers off Wanan, in the Penghu island group.

Kay Yong, managing director of the Aviation Safety Council (ASC), said that unless the plane had an emergency situation or encountered big climatic changes, the pilot usually would not make a descent after reaching navigation altitude.

"The cause of the crash will not be known until the search teams retrieve the black box recorders -- the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder," Yong said, adding that choppy seas and bad weather could delay salvage efforts.

Meanwhile, Yong said, the ASC has informed French and Canadian flight accident investigative authorities of the crash. The 10-year-old plane's fuselage was built by a French company, while itsengine was supplied by a Canadian firm. It was transformed from a passenger airliner into a cargo plane early this year.

TransAsia Airways inaugurated its Taipei-Macao cargo flight services on Feb. 26 this year and currently operates seven cargo flights on the route per week.

The CAA ordered TransAsia to examine its 10 other ATR planes in the wake of the crash and a company spokeswoman said that all of those planes had passed stringent security checks.

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