TransAsia pilot Liao Chien-tsung was hailed a hero after flying his failing plane into a Taiwan river, which signalled distress right before the disaster, in an effort to avoid smashing into buildings.
On Feb. 4, Wednesday, Flight GE235 clipped a highway overpass before it sailed into the Keelung River in New Taipei City. Out of the 58 people on board, at least 32 died with 15 rescued and 12 still missing.
Right before the impact, Liao said, "Mayday, mayday, engine flameout!" as revealed by cockpit recordings, USA Today reported.
Taiwan's aviation regulator confirmed that the pilot and his unidentified co-pilot are among those who did not survive the disaster.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je was in tears after he said Liao "really tried everything he could" and hailed him a hero for averting a potentially worse disaster, NBC News reported.
The crashing plane's wing knocked a taxi on the road leaving the driver and his passenger majorly injured.
According to Taiwanese media, Liao appeared to have had around 5,000 hours of flying under his belt and he had desperately tried to steer his aircraft between commercial buildings and apartment blocks.
A brother of one of the survivors named Chris Lin said "the pilot's immediate reaction saved many people."
The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, but based on the pilot's final call over the radio, a flameout might have taken place can occur due to either faulty combustion or interrupted fuel supply to an engine. It must be considered, however, that twin-engined aircraft can typically keep flying with one engine.