TransAsia Plane Crashes In Taiwan On Takeoff; At Least 26 Dead

Local officials say it’s a miracle anyone survived the crash of a TransAsia flight in Taiwan on Wednesday that left at least 26 people dead.

A man driving on Taiwan’s National Freeway No. 1 captured the crash on video which made it appear the engines failed causing the plane to fall out of the sky.  The plane barely missed the main highway before clipping a taxi and the edge of a bridge on the way into a river.

Officials say that 18 people are still missing in the river but that 15 people were rescued and rushed to hospitals including a toddler.  The driver of the taxi and passenger were also injured in the incident.

Local Taiwan broadcasters played a recording of the plane’s last contact with the control tower where the pilots repeat “Mayday” three times.  The pilots offered to details as to what may have caused the crash.

TransAsia director Peter Chen told reporters that plane was one of the newest in their fleet and had been in service for less than a year.  The pilot reportedly had 4,900 hours of flight experience, leading officials to say it’s likely mechanical failure was the cause over pilot error.