An investigation into the fatal crash of TransAsia flight GE235 has found that the pilot mistakenly throttled down a still-running engine following a problem with the other engine that caused it to switch off.
The Taiwan's Aviation Safety Council has not assigned blame for the crash on the pilot but did release these additional details about the crash and the background of the pilot, including that he had failed a flight simulator test as recently as May 2014.
A report from the council said that minutes after takeoff in Taipei, a ribbon-like sensor connector in the automated flight system failed and put one engine into a mode that effectively cut its power to the aircraft. The engine's condition generated a flame-out warning in the cockpit 37 seconds after takeoff, but the engine was technically still capable of providing power to the ATR-72 aircraft. The aircraft was also designed to fly on one engine.
Seconds later, the pilot said he would pull back on the throttle to the plane's other engine, which showed no mechanical trouble. Eight seconds before the crash, the report states that the pilot said in Chinese: "Wow, pulled back on the wrong side throttle."
The Aviation Safety Council anticipates finishing a full investigation by April next year.