Pilot avoided bigger tragedy by ditching plane in river

Video:The moment a TransAsia plane hits bridge and crashes in Taiwan.

Highlights:

** 35 people confirmed dead, and other 8 missing

** 31 mainland tourists aboard, of them 22 confirmed dead

** Pilot narrowly avoided hitting buildings and ditched the stalled aircraft in a river

Roundup of timeline of the crash        Basic facts about aircraft ATR-72

Liao Chien-tsung(second from left), was identified as the pilot of the crashed TransAsia Airways plane. [Photo/ETTV]

TAIPEI/BEIJING -- Pilot of the crashed TransAsia Airways plane narrowly avoided hitting buildings and ditched the stalled aircraft in a river, likely averting a worse disaster, according to a report.

The pilot and co-pilot of the almost-new turboprop ATR 72-600 were among those killed, Taiwan's aviation regulator said. TransAsia identified the pilot as 42-year-old Liao Chien-tsung.

Liao was found still holding the joystick in the plane's cockpit when his body was retrieved, media reported on Friday.

"He really tried everything he could," Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je said of the pilot, his voice breaking with sobs.

At least 35 people were killed when Flight GE235 lurched between buildings, clipped a taxi and an overpass with one of its wings and crashed upside down into shallow water shortly after take-off from a downtown Taipei airport on Wednesday. There were 15 known survivors and 8 more unaccounted for.