The ART72-200 TransAsia cargo plane crashed into the sea near Makung Airport, Penghu County, early on Saturday en route to Macao, and its two pilots were still missing.

Kay Yong, managing director of the Aviation Safety Council, revealed the conversations between the pilots and the control tower, saying that the pilot had asked to descend from 18,000 feet to 16,000 feet at 1:51:50 am.

However, the plane eventually descended 13,000 feet in 35 seconds from 1:52:11 am to 1:52:46 am.

The plane disappeared from radar screens about an hour after taking off from Taipei International Airport, 40 kilometers south of Taipei, at 1:05 am. It was carrying about six tons of goods, including some electronics products.

According to radar data, the plane was flying at an altitude of 18,000 feet before it crashed into the sea. The plane lost contact with the flight control center at 1:51:58 am and disappeared from radar screens at 1:56:10 am.

Rescue teams have found small pieces of wreckage of the plane in water 27.4 kilometers, or 15 nautical miles, off Makung, and are continuing their search for the two missing men, identified as 53-year-old pilot Pan Teh-chung and 34-year-old co-pilot Liu Ching-hai.

(Xinhua News Agency December 23, 2002)