Captain of TransAsia Flight 235 shut off working engine after other failed: Report

cnn ^ | 02:39 AM PHT Fri, July 3, 2015 | Tim Hume, CNN

[BenLurkin]

"Wow, pulled back the wrong side throttle."

These are the words of the captain of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235, eight seconds before the plane clipped a bridge and plunged into a Taiwanese river mere minutes after takeoff, killing 43 people on board.

The latest report by Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council into the February crash confirms that the captain of the ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft mistakenly switched off the plane's working engine after the other lost power.

The plane is designed to be able to be flown on one engine.

The report also showed that the captain had failed simulator training less than a year earlier, partly because he had demonstrated a lack of knowledge of how to respond to engine flameout at takeoff.

[ExNewsExSpook]

Got to wonder if the airline has the same problem that plagued Korean Air for years. During the 80s and 90s, KAL had a loss rate that far exceeded western carriers; in fact, you’d have to look at Aeroflot and some of the Chinese start-ups to find a worse safety record.

After a KAL 747 plowed into a hillside in Guam in 1997, investigators determined that the Captain set a descent rate that was going to carry the jet into terrain short of the runway; the co-pilot and flight engineer failed to adequately cross-check the PIC; as I recall, the FE made a few protests about the captain misinterpreting an electronic signal as the ILS, but the pilot ignored him. Out of 254 passengers and crew onboard, 228 died.

One of the major findings from the crash investigation was the “crew culture,” where co-pilots and FEs were afraid to challenge the PIC—a practice that stemmed from the larger Korean culture where obedience to authority is automatic. After three fatal accidents in three years (including the Guam crash), KAL hired a former Delta executive to fix their crew coordination and training issues, and the airline’s safety record improved markedly.

Got to wonder if the co-pilot saw the Captain move his hand towards the wrong throttle and failed to act, figuring the guy in the left seat would correct his mistake. Of course, when you lose an engine on takeoff, there isn’t much time to react, and the co-pilot was probably busy with other tasks. Still, cross-checking and backing each other up is one of the fundamentals of commercial aviation. The PIC made a mistake; the co-pilot didn’t catch it (or couldn’t react in time) and a lot of people paid with their lives.

[Dagnabitt]

My only engine failure as an AH-1 helicopter pilot was much less eventful. Was at a 3-foot hover making noise. Then I was on the ground and it was quiet.

[Dr. Ursus]

We’re going to have a good laugh at the hotel bar later!

[Zathras]

Whe Too Loo