As the massive search and rescue operation continues in the waters near Penghu island, small pieces of wreckage of the TransAsia Airways ATR-72 cargo plane had been retrieved from the high seas yesterday. However, unfavorable weather has seriously hampered the search and rescue mission, Chinese-language media reported yesterday.
"We have found some small pieces of wreckage that belong to the ATR-72 cargo plane in waters some 27km, or 15 nautical miles, off Makung, Penghu County," said Billy Chang (張國政), director-general of the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA).
The recovered wreckage included parts of the wings, Chang said, adding that military rescue helicopters and naval vessels are still searching the waters near Penghu island.
Taiwanese TV stations also reported that the first pieces of wreckage bearing the plane's logo had been retrieved from the high seas around 8am yesterday.
In addition to the wreckage, some items carried by the plane, including fabric, blankets and flight manuals, were also discovered in waters 11km off Wanan in the Penghu island group.
The plane was carrying about 6.5 tonnes of goods -- including leather products, electronic items and textiles -- when it disappeared from radar screens at 1:56am yesterday.
"At the moment, we are focusing on searching for the plane's crew," Chang said. But he later admitted that the search for the two pilots may be pessimistic due to yesterday's choppy seas and bad weather.
The two missing men were identified as 53-year-old pilot Pan Teh-chung (
Pan, a Chinese Air Force Academy (CAFA) graduate, is a senior pilot with 14,214 flying hours. He has served TransAsia for about 13 years. Liu has 4,549 flying hours and has served the company for about five-and-a-half years.
Some of Liu's family members flew to Makung early yesterday morning, but Pan's relatives decided to stay home and pray for the missing pilot.
"The plane disappeared in bad weather conditions. We are doing our best to help authorities look for the two pilots," said Sun Hung-hsiang (孫洪祥), president of Trans-Asia, stressing that the search for the two pilots will continue.
Weather data shows that the plane was in a thunderstorm when it disappeared. The cause of the crash will remain unknown until the search teams retrieve the two black boxes -- the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder.
French company ATR makes the ATR-42 and ATR-72 turbo-propeller plane, which can be converted into cargo planes.
Sunday's accident was Trans-Asia's second crash since it was established in 1951.
On Jan. 30, 1995, a TransAsia ATR-72 passenger plane crashed into mountains in rain in Taoyuan County due to pilot error. No passengers were on the plane, but all four crew members were killed.
People claim the ATR-72 cargo plane was cursed after it joined a mission to transport the bodies of 225 victims killed in Taiwan's worst air disaster when a China Airlines Boeing 747-200 crashed into the Taiwan Strait on May 25.
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