Taiwan’s TransAsia Airways has ordered its pilots to undergo additional training on engine failure emergencies in the aftermath of the fatal crash of one of the airline’s ATR 72-600 twin turboprops.
Investigators say the flight data recorders from TransAsia Flight 235 indicate that the airplane lost power in the right engine just after takeoff from Taipei’s Songshan Airport last week. The crew then shut down the left engine and attempted to restart it shortly before the aircraft went out of control and crashed into a Taipei river, killing at least 40 people.
Officials said additional simulator training would involve only TransAsia’s ATR pilots, and not those who fly its Airbus jets. The airline is canceling flights flown by its ATR crews until the training is completed.
Investigators will try to determine why the pilots appear to have shut down the wrong engine, and whether the crews’ actions are to blame for the crash. The accident investigation is expected to take at least six months.
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