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I think this is a bit of an unfair comparison. Sullenberger had 3000 feet at time of engine loss and Transasia had a max altitude of 1050 feet, and lost the fir

by ppod 12y ago

I think this is a bit of an unfair comparison. Sullenberger had 3000 feet at time of engine loss and Transasia had a max altitude of 1050 feet, and lost the first engine at around 3-500 feet. Yes it was their own fault but no engines at 1000 feet is a different story than 3000, and you could even argue that single engine failure just after takeoff requires more taxing immediate action - possibly especially in a turboprop where I think you have to feather. Also, as the article mentions, the river is much less suitable for ditching than the Hudson. *edit apart from the comparison, I think it's a pretty good article.

CPLX 12y ago
It is an unfair comparison but not in the way you suggest. Sullenberger was going to have some sort of plane crash, he didn't have any good options, he was over Manhattan without the ability to reach a runway by glide and no engine power. By contrast the Taipei flight has a perfectly good working engine and should have had no problem reaching a runway and landing with minor drama at worst. There is no question that losing an engine in a twin prop plane on takeoff is among the more gnarly problems you can have but there is absolutely no reason the plane had to depart from controlled flight. It is pilot error that caused the deaths of dozens of passengers, period. Without said error that plane would have been able to land at an airport and taxi back to a gate. (Source - I have a pilots license)
- acveilleux 12y ago
  Gnarly single-engine loss in commuter turboprops is fairly common (for a rare failure). They often happen in climb outs but thankfully there's usually more altitude. Air Canada Jazz had 6 engine failures (plus 2 more problems) in the last 12 months across their DHC8 fleet (I fly with them once a month on average and never had a blip, thankfully.) http://www.aeroinside.com/incidents/airline/jazz http://www.aeroinside.com/incidents/airline/jazz
- cpncrunch 12y ago
  Although it happened on takeoff, they were at about 1000ft, so it's not an immediate "do or die" moment. They should have been trained to calmly identify the failed engine before feathering it. Many high-time pilots say that the first thing you should do when an engine fails in cruise flight is absolutely nothing. You need to relax and calmly assess the situation. Although they weren't in cruise, they certainly had enough altitude to be able to take 10 seconds to calm down and properly identify the problem.

by ppod 12y ago

CPLX 12y ago

It is an unfair comparison but not in the way you suggest. Sullenberger was going to have some sort of plane crash, he didn't have any good options, he was over Manhattan without the ability to reach a runway by glide and no engine power. By contrast the Taipei flight has a perfectly good working engine and should have had no problem reaching a runway and landing with minor drama at worst. There is no question that losing an engine in a twin prop plane on takeoff is among the more gnarly problems you can have but there is absolutely no reason the plane had to depart from controlled flight. It is pilot error that caused the deaths of dozens of passengers, period. Without said error that plane would have been able to land at an airport and taxi back to a gate. (Source - I have a pilots license)

acveilleux 12y ago
Gnarly single-engine loss in commuter turboprops is fairly common (for a rare failure). They often happen in climb outs but thankfully there's usually more altitude. Air Canada Jazz had 6 engine failures (plus 2 more problems) in the last 12 months across their DHC8 fleet (I fly with them once a month on average and never had a blip, thankfully.) http://www.aeroinside.com/incidents/airline/jazz http://www.aeroinside.com/incidents/airline/jazz
cpncrunch 12y ago
Although it happened on takeoff, they were at about 1000ft, so it's not an immediate "do or die" moment. They should have been trained to calmly identify the failed engine before feathering it. Many high-time pilots say that the first thing you should do when an engine fails in cruise flight is absolutely nothing. You need to relax and calmly assess the situation. Although they weren't in cruise, they certainly had enough altitude to be able to take 10 seconds to calm down and properly identify the problem.