TransAsia gives money to victims' families for funerals
TransAsia representatives met with relatives of the victims of a plane crash that left at least 40 people dead to discuss compensation Sunday, as the search continued for three missing passengers.
Fifteen of the 58 passengers and crew on board the propeller jet survived the crash, which happened shortly after takeoff from Taipei's airport Wednesday.
Fang Chia-wen, a TransAsia spokeswoman, said the airline had begun distributing 1.2 million Taiwan dollars ($38,000) to passengers' families for funeral costs, and said a second meeting would be held Wednesday to discuss compensation matters further.
The fast-descending ATR 72 aircraft, which was traveling to the island of Kinmen, near mainland China, was captured on car dashcams banking sharply then clipping an elevated highway before crashing into the Keelung River.
Preliminary investigations indicate the pilots shut off a running engine after its other engine went idle, a move that aviation experts said was an error.
Most of the passengers were from the Chinese mainland.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo told Taiwan's private Formosa TV on Sunday that the priority was to find the three missing passengers. Longer term, he said the country needs to work on improving "our civil aviation in terms of its management and training."
Huang Han-chung, a member of the underwater search team, told the station that rescuers were using metal detectors in the search, which had already been used to locate pieces of wreckage.
"Some bodies might have some metal on them, like necklaces, watches and coins, which will be detected," said Wu Jun-hung, a Taipei city fire department official. "There are still four seats missing, so it's possible that the victims are still fastened in their seats by seat belt, that they sunk together with the seats to the bottom of the bank."
The dozens of pilots who operate TransAsia Airways' ATR propeller jets began proficiency tests Saturday. The airline said it canceled 90 flights to accommodate the requirement by Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration that all 71 of its ATR pilots be retested.
The regulator has ordered engine and fuel system checks on the 22 planes manufactured by France-based firm that are in active service on the island, the BBC reported.
A spokesman for ATR told the Associated Press on Sunday that their aircraft were equipped and designed to fly on a single engine. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity in line with company rules.
Contributing: Calum MacLeod, Paste BN, Associated Press