TransAsia Airways ATR 72-500 aircraft

Forty seven people have died after a TransAsia Airways’ ATR 72-500 aircraft crash-landed during a thunderstorm near the runway of Magong Airport on the island of Penghu, off the western coast of Taiwan.

The crash of GE222 was Taiwan’s first fatal air disaster in 12 years and comes after Typhoon Matmo caused heavy rains and 200 flights being cancelled due to adverse conditions.

Penghu County Government Fire Bureau spokesman Hsi Wen-guang was quoted by Reuters as saying: "It was thunderstorm conditions during the crash.

"From the crash, site we sent 11 people to hospital with injuries.

"A few empty apartment buildings adjacent to the runway caught fire, but no one was inside at the time and the fire was extinguished."

The twin-engine turboprop, which flew from Taiwan’s Kaohsiung International Airport, crashed on its second landing attempt, causing damage to cars on the ground.

"Flight GE222 was operating between Kaohsiung and Magong with 58 people on-board, including crewmembers."

ATR said in a statement: "ATR regrets to confirm that an ATR 72-500 operated by Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways was involved in an accident today at around 7.30pm (local time) at Magong (Taiwan).

"The flight GE222 was operating between Kaohsiung and Magong with 58 people on-board, including crewmembers."

According to a Civil Aeronautics Administration official, air traffic control noted that the stormy weather at the event of the crash was not beyond international landing regulations, with the visibility being 1,600m and the cloud cover remaining as low as 600m.

Bowing an apology TransAsia’s president Chooi Yee-choong said: "We express our deepest apologies to everyone for this unfortunate event."

The latest crash follows the recent crash of Malaysian Airlines’ MH17 passenger jet in the eastern, rebel-held Ukraine, killing 298 passengers on-board.

Image: TransAsia Airways’ ATR-72-500 taking off from Kaohsiung. Photo: courtesy of Mike-tango.

Defence Technology