What happened
A cargo flight carrying leather components and electronic materials departed from Taipei-Chiang Kai Shek Airport at 01:05 local time, bound for Macau. During the cruise phase of the flight, while positioned near the Penghu Islands, the crew received instructions from air traffic control to descend from 18,000 feet to 16,000 feet to avoid encountering icing conditions.
At approximately 01:52, while the aircraft was at an altitude of 17,853 feet, the flight crew experienced a stall warning and the activation of the stick shaker. In response to these indications, the pilots disconnected the autopilot to manually maintain control of the aircraft. Shortly after, the plane entered an uncontrolled descent. The aircraft accelerated to 320 knots and reached a vertical descent rate exceeding 36,000 feet per minute. The aircraft ultimately impacted the ocean approximately 17 km southwest of Magong. Search efforts recovered minimal debris from the water surface. There were two fatalities among the crew.
Findings
The investigation into the sequence of events indicates that the aircraft experienced an aerodynamic stall while transitioning through altitudes during a period of known icing conditions.