At least 23 people have died after a TransAsia plane crashed into a river shortly after takeoff in Taipei, its wing hitting a taxi on a highway overpass as it fell. Dashboard camera footage uploaded to YouTube captures the frightening scene (the driver of the taxi was injured by the impact):
The taxi shortly afterward:
Reports say 53 passengers and five crew members were aboard the plane; voice and data recorders have been recovered. From Reuters:
The last communication from one of the aircraft’s pilots was “Mayday Mayday engine flameout,” according to an air traffic control recording on liveatc.net.
A flameout occurs when the fuel supply to the engine is interrupted or when there is faulty combustion, resulting in an engine failure. Twin-engined aircraft, however, are usually able to keep flying even when one engine has failed.
A July 2014 TransAsia crash in Taiwan killed 48.
