Wang Hsing-chung, head of the Taiwan's aviation safety council says that both the pilot and copilot of TransAsia Airways Flight GE 222 were not affected by alcohol or any drugs when the plane crashed.
"The identification result by the forensic institute today shows that the pilot, co-pilot were not found to have taken ingredients of alcohol, opiate, amphetamine, sedatives and sleeping pills or other common poisonous substances. The pilot and copilot were not affected by alcohol or other drugs in the plane crash. So to speak, the institute made a clarification first."
TransAsia Airways Flight GE 222, with 54 passengers and four crew members on board, crashed into residential buildings in Xixi Village of Penghu after a failed emergency landing at Magong Airport on Wednesday, killing 48 people.
Some 100 criminal investigators, police and soldiers are sorting through the debris for clues into the plane crash, which came hours after Typhoon Matmo swept across Taiwan.
The plane's black boxes have been found, with heavy damage on the outside.
