It is unclear whether the man was a pilot.
The passenger plane clipped a bridge and plunged into a river in Taipei, according to the island's official news agency, CNA.
Rescuers scrambled to pull survivors from the submerged wreck of the ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft, which went down shortly after takeoff from the Taiwanese capital.
Fifty-eight people were aboard the flight when it veered out of control as it flew to Kinmen, off the coast of the Chinese province of Fujian.
The toll, according to CNA: 32 people confirmed dead and 11 missing. The search and rescue effort continues.
Many of the 15 people who survived the crash were injured. Two other people, who were in a car on the bridge that was clipped by the wing of the plane as it went down, also were hurt.
The plane's cockpit crew were among those confirmed dead, authorities said.
Crews have recovered the aircraft's "black boxes," CNA reported