“Help, help, I am a taxi driver and an
airplane had just collided with my cab!” the cabbie hysterically cried out.
“You mean, a remote-controlled plane?” the operator
was puzzled.
I’m sure quite a few of us may have seen
this haunting image on 4Feb 2015: A TransAsia airplane colliding with a yellow
cab on an urban highway and crashing into the waters below. Miraculously, the
two people on the cab survived with minor injuries (hence the existence of the
above voice recordings of the SOS call made by the cabbie)! Although this incident happened in a regional carrier plane with 58
passengers in Taiwan and some people living outside of Taiwan may think this is
irrelevant to them, many lessons can be learnt upon reflection. In fact, had
the plane crashed just a little bit differently, it could have been a “911
version 2” happening in the heart of the extremely densely populated city of
Taipei, possibly killing tens of thousands!
TransAsia had just been involved in another
deadly disaster in July 2014. In that incident, forty-eight people died after
an ATR 72 aircraft operated by the airline crashed as it was attempting to land
in the Taiwanese Penghu Islands during bad weather. This is an awful flight
safety record!
Although a full analysis of Flight GE235's flight
data recorder and cockpit voice recorder is still months away, it seems as though
the engine may have shut off due to a crew member or a mechanical issue.
According to a colleague of the pilot, the pilot had actually reported an error with the engines as he was
landing in Taipei in the flight prior to the flight which crashed, but the
ground staff feared a penalty fee for late flights and did not conduct a full
assessment of the engines. Some staffs of TransAsia also reported the airline
overworking staff by rostering them into densely packed shifts to maintain
profitable earnings.
Whatever really happened, we can certainly
see that there are preventable human factors present, and this tragedy may well
have been the combined result of human greed and staff over fatigue. Nevertheless
the pilots are honourable in remaining in their seats trying hard to control
the plane to the very last moment. There was also a 72 year old passenger who
helped save four other passengers as he was getting out. Many passersby helped out
with the rescue, and subsequently many volunteers and business owners brought
food to the rescue workers/reporters etc.
The Chinese name of this airline 復興 directly translates into "Revival" in English. And like its name, I
think this airline will need some major revival and reformation, or it will just
bring doom upon itself!
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