A TransAsia Airways airplane that was forced to turn around on Saturday after showing a false engine warning is still being tested and will remain grounded for the time being, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
TransAsia Flight GE507, originally scheduled to fly from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Magong Airport in Penghu County, on Saturday experienced an engine alert, which was confirmed after it returned to Taipei to be a problem with the aircraft’s warning system instead of with the engine itself.
The ATR 72-500 airplane is the same make and model as the aircraft used on TransAsia Flight GE507, which crashed outside Magong Airport on July 23 last year, killing 48 of the 58 people onboard.
The carrier’s most recent deadly crash occurred on Feb. 4, when a newer ATR 72-600 model aircraft crashed in Taipei, killing 43 of the 58 people onboard.
After Saturday’s false alarm, TransAsia informed the aircraft’s French-Italian manufacturer ATR of the problem, but the CAA reiterated that the engine was in proper functioning condition and that the problem was merely a signal malfunction.
Parts related to the sensor system have been replaced, and tests and inspections are planned to continue, the CAA said.
The airplane will not return to service before the cause of the incident is identified and fixed, the agency said.
TransAsia has only said that the aircraft would not fly without first receiving authorities’ approval.
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