Accidents
Taiwan Orders Checks on ATRs after TransAsia Crash
Order also affects fellow Taiwanese regional Uni Air
A TransAsia ATR 72-600 taxis at Blagnac Airport in Toulouse before its delivery Taipei. (Photo: ATR)
A TransAsia ATR 72-600 taxis at Blagnac Airport in Toulouse before its delivery Taipei. (Photo: ATR)

Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration has ordered all ATR turboprops registered in its jurisdiction to undergo “special checks” involving engines, fuel controls, propellers and other systems. The order follows Wednesday’s crash of a TransAsia ATR 72 in Taipei, in which at least 32 of the 58 people on board died. Video footage taken by a motorist shows the 72-seat turboprop banking sharply left, barely missing an apartment building and clipping with its left wing the top of a taxi traveling on an overpass before diving into the Keelung River. Rescue crews on the scene minutes after the crash pulled 15 survivors from the wreckage. Eleven passengers remained missing as of nightfall Thursday.