Breaking News / Forced landing of TransAsia flight / Civil Aviation Authority: Pilots were Lee Yiliang and Jiang Guanxing

▲ A forced landing incident occurred at Magong Airport involving TransAsia Airways. (Photo / Illustration, not the actual flight involved, photo by reporter Chen Ruizhong)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taipei

The TransAsia Airways GE222 flight forced landing incident at Penghu Magong Airport on the evening of July 23 was addressed in a press conference held by the Civil Aviation Authority at 20:40 that night. The authority stated that the captain of the TransAsia flight involved in the accident was Lee Yiliang, who had over 22,000 hours of flying experience and had been working at TransAsia Airways since January 9, 2012, while the first officer was Jiang Guanxing. According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority, between 19:00 and 19:10 on the 23rd, visibility dropped from 1,600 feet to 800 feet, which is within the acceptable range for landing, but the weather at the time was stormy with thunderstorms.

Civil Aviation Authority Director Shen Chi stated that since the forced landing did not occur within the airport perimeter, the Penghu County Government will take the lead in the follow-up response. It is understood that a large number of local personnel and military forces have been deployed to assist. The Civil Aviation Authority also plans to hold another press conference at 21:40 to provide an update on the latest situation.