(NBC Nightly News/Twitter)

The TransAsia flight GE235 had just launched when the plane lost control, making a sharp turn. As it descended, the plane clipped a highway and a taxicab before landing in a river. A dashboard camera captured the horrific scene in detail.

Rescuers recovered 15 passengers that suffer from injuries. However, the pilot and the two co-pilots perished. 

Rescuers continue to search through the wreckage and the river for 11 missing passengers, which include the pilot. The plane model was a ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft and 58 people were aboard the flight according to CNN.

SEE ALSO: No Contest: Taipei MRT Vs. Los Angeles Metro

The black boxes on flight GE235 were recovered according to the Associated Press. Sources believe this will assist in the investigation.
The plane took off from the Taipei Songshan Airport at Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. This airport is the base for TransAsia Airlines. Flight GE235 was in route to Kinmen, an island in the Fujian region of China, according to the New York Times.

One of the pilots reported to the control tower: “Mayday, mayday. Engine flameout.” An engine ‘flameout’ is when flames are extinguished in the combustion chamber. This allows the chamber to shut down and to stop driving the propeller, according to the Associated Press.

Crash survivor Huang Jin-sun said to ETTV Television that he heard a sound briefly after takeoff that made him believe “the engine did not feel right.”

Among the survivors was a family of three with a two-year-old son whose heart stopped after being submerged in the river for three minutes. The child recovered after getting CPR, according to the Associated Press.

On Thursday, family members of the victims performed traditional mourning rituals at the sight of the crash. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou visited injured passengers who are being treated at two Taipei hospitals. The president also visited the morgue to comfort the relatives of the victims.

SEE ALSO: In Operation Fox Hunt, China Arrests Nearly 300 Corruption Suspects

TransAsia director Peter Chen said the flight crashed for unknown reasons. The flight also lost contact with the airlines four minutes after takeoff according the CBS news.

Sources say the crash sheds light on a recent surge in the number of Asian Airlines. The growing middle class in Asia caused a raise in air travel, according to the CBC news.

Airlines rushed to complement the trend, buying planes from companies like Boeing, Airbus and ATR. Southeast Asian airlines received over 1,500 planes, according to CBC news.

They have also hired more flight intendants, maintenance workers, and pilots. The growth of the company can strain the training process for piolets, according to the San Francisco chronicle. Experts say that airplanes hire around 12 pilots to every new plane.

Asian airlines do not have the adequate training facilities for their piolets, according to the San Francisco chronicle.

Despite the crash, 99.9 percent of Asian flights are safe. In one day, 25,000 flights will take off to another destination in Asia. Daily international flights from Asia are three times that amount, according to CBC news.

Email Staff Reporter Amanda Scurlock here or follow her here.