The black boxes of the plane that crashed in Penghu recorded two unusual sounds right before it crashed on July 23. That’s the word from the Aviation Safety Council on Friday. Forty-eight of the 58 people onboard were killed in the crash, which occurred as Typhoon Matmo hit Taiwan.
The council’s director Wang Hsing-chung said on Friday that the first sound was recorded at 7:06:13 p.m., two seconds after the pilots requested a go-around. At that time, the plane was flying over a wooded area close to the Penghu airport. About three seconds later, the cockpit asked for another go-around, and the second abnormal sound was heard. Then the black boxes stopped recording.
Over 20 pieces of wreckage were later found in the area where the first sound was heard. News reports have said that the aircraft clipped some tree tops in a wooded area before crashing into residential buildings near the airport.
Wang said this was only a preliminary finding and the cause of the crash has not been confirmed. A preliminary report will be filed by the end of August, and a final report will be completed in 18 months.