Report Following February TransAsia Plane Crash Reveals Pilot's Mistake

According to a report published by the Aviation Safety Council, the captain of the TransAsia Airways ATR72-600 flight switched off the plane’s only working engine by mistake only moments before the aircraft crashed in Taiwan.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The captain of the TransAsia Airways ATR72-600 flight switched off the plane’s only working engine by mistake only moments before the aircraft crashed in Taiwan in February, a report published by the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) on Thursday showed.

"PF [Pilot Flying] said "Wow, pulled back the wrong side throttle" while [the] aircraft was at 309 ft. with speed 105 knots," the report said.

The captain, Liao Jian-zong, reduced the throttle on the plane's only working engine, after the first engine flamed out during takeoff.

"Data indicates that about 36 seconds after takeoff the engine no.2 auto-feathered, about 46 seconds subsequent to auto-feather the engine no.1 was shut off," the report reads.

The TransAsia Airways ATR72-600 flight took off from Taipei Songshan Airport for Kinmen, Taiwan. There were 58 people on board, including 3 flight crew, 2 cabin crew, and 53 passengers.

The aircraft crashed into the shallow Keelung River, resulting in the death of 43 people on board, including captain Liao.