Taiwan flight safety below par - Curt Lewis

Turboprop aircraft crash rate in Taiwan above global average: ASC

Taipei, Feb. 25 (CNA) The crash rate of turboprop aircraft in Taiwan over the past decade has risen above the world's average since the crash of two such planes in less than a year, the Aviation Safety Council (ASC) said Thursday.

Taiwan now has a record of 3.43 hull loss accidents per million departures in the category of turboprop aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of 5,700 kilograms, while the global average is 2.2, the ASC said.

It was a sharp rise from zero such accidents per million departures between 2005 and 2014, the council said.

The increase was a result of the fatal crash of two TransAsia Airways' ATR planes on July 23, 2014 and Feb. 4 last year, respectively, the ASC said.

Flight GE222 crashed on the outlying island county of Penghu, killing 48 of the 58 people onboard, while 43 of the 58 people onboard Flight GE235 died when it crashed in Taipei shortly after takeoff.