A passenger airplane operated by Daily Air yesterday overran the runway and crashed into guard rails at Lanyu Airport on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
There were 19 people on board the de Havilland Canada DHC6-400 aircraft, including two pilots, one crew member and a toddler, when the incident happened at about 4:32pm, the administration said.
The passengers, who had embarked on Flight 55571 at Taitung Airport, were safely evacuated following the accident, the agency said, adding that only two passengers reported slight discomfort in their ankles.
Photo: CNA, provided by the police
Photographs taken by Lanyu Airport staff showed the airplane’s fuselage lodged in a ditch between the guard rails and the runway, with damage visible to the wings and engines.
The agency said that staff at Taitung Airport and Lanyu Airport formed an emergency task force to handle the accident, along with local firefighters.
Daily Air was ordered to take care of the passengers, it added.
The agency and the Aviation Safety Council are to be jointly responsible for investigating the incident, the CAA said.
The incident disrupted Daily Air’s flight schedule.
Eight people on Orchid Island who were scheduled to return to Taitung on the last flight offered by Daily Air yesterday were rescheduled to spend the night on the island, the agency said.
As of the press time last night, the airline said it was trying to contact passengers who were scheduled to fly from Taitung to Orchid Island before 1pm today about changes in its flight schedule, and that passengers are advised to contact the airline for details.
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