Liao Jian-zong, captain of the ill-fated TransAsia Airways ATR 72-600 that crashed in February, switched off the plane's only working engine by mistake seconds before the airplane crashed, claiming 43 lives and injuring others.
Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council (ASC) has stated in a report that the captain, who was at the controls when the disaster happened, switched off the plane's working engine by mistake while trying to fix the plane's other engine, which had flamed out, according to The Independent.
"Wow, pulled back the wrong side throttle," Liao said in a voice recording.
The ASC's report further states that the captain has previously failed simulator training in May 2014, partly due to his insufficient knowledge of how to deal with an engine flame-out after take-off. While he had a total of 4,914 flight hours on ATR 72 airplanes, the report showed that the captain has a tendency to skip procedures and checks before taking off, according to Reuters.
His "cockpit management and flight planning" skills were also found to be sub-par.
The recordings taken from the plane showed what appeared to be confusion in the cockpit as the captains attempted to regain control of the aircraft after one engine lost power. Liao then reduced the throttle on the plane's remaining working engine. He eventually realized his mistake, but it was already too late, The Guardian reported.
A junior first officer, who was also in the cockpit, was heard saying "Impact, impact, brace for impact," seconds before the recording ended. Those were the final words in the recording.
TransAsia has yet to release an official statement about the findings of the ASC. The company, however, is set to hold a media briefing on Thursday.
