Here's Everything We Know About The Airliner That Crashed In Taiwan Today

An TransAsia Airways ATR-72 regional airliner crashed this morning while attempting an emergency landing in one of Taiwan's Penghu Islands.

Reports out of Taiwan indicate that TransAsia flight GE222 crashed into a residential neighborhood after flying through a patch of rough weather caused by Typhoon Matmo.

According to local news sources, Taiwan's Transport Ministry confirmed the crash led to 47 deaths and 11 injuries.

Here's everything we know so far about the airline and the aircraft that went down.

The aircraft in question is a French-built ATR-72 regional airliner and is one of 10 ATRs in TransAsia's fleet. We have not been able to confirm the exact tail-number of the aircraft that crashed. Founded in 1981, ATR (Avions de Transport Regional) is a joint venture between Airbus Group and Italian aerospace firm Alenia Aermacchi for the stated purpose of building advanced regional airliners.

Powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW127 turboprop engines, the ATR-72-500/600 has been one of the most popular regional airliners in the world since its debut in 1997. According to Airsafe.com, today's accident marks the eighth fatal crash for the aircraft type.

TransAsia Airways is a small regional carrier based in Taipei. According to the Airfleets.net, the airline's fleet of 23 aircraft ranges from turboprops like the the ATR to wide body long-haul jets like the Airbus A330. The airlines serves mostly customers in East and Southeast Asia with scheduled and charter flights.

According to Taiwanese news, the GE222 crash is the seventh incident involving a TransAsia ATR-72 in the last 15 years and the second fatal crash after a TransAsia ATR cargo plane crashed in 2001 due to ice forming on its wings.