What happened
Shortly after departing from Kaohsiung Airport, an aircraft bound for Taipei-Songshan Airport experienced mechanical difficulties involving the right engine during its initial climb. Upon identifying the issue, the pilot notified ground control of the situation and received authorization to perform a return to the departure airport.
During the attempt to land, the flight crew determined that the aircraft could not reach the runway safely. In an effort to manage the emergency, the altitude was reduced to facilitate an emergency landing. While maneuvering at a low altitude over a heavily forested region, the plane became uncontrollable and impacted an open field in the vicinity of Tainan. The impact resulted in a post-crash fire that completely destroyed the aircraft. There were 36 fatalities among the occupants, with no survivors reported.
The accident occurred approximately 12 minutes after the flight had taken off from Kaohsiung.