Following the death of a 37-year-old pilot in a crash in an AT-3 training aircraft on Tuesday, the air force has grounded all AT-3 aircraft and suspended their flight missions for the foreseeable future.
Some officials called for cutting the number of aerial acrobatic shows, saying the AT-3 squadron and its aircraft may have been burdened by having to perform at too many events.
Wang Hsuan-chou (汪旋周), director of the political warfare department at Air Force Command Headquarters, yesterday said a task force has been set up to investigate Tuesday’s crash, which killed the pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Chuang Pei-yuan (莊倍源).
Wang also revised the initial crash report yesterday.
“We inspected the accident site today and found that Chuang did not eject from the plane. He was dislodged from the plane by the impact of the crash. His body was found about 20m away from the main fuselage,” Wang said.
Air force headquarters released a press statement on Tuesday afternoon, only hours after the crash, according to which Chuang “tried to parachute to safety before the plane crashed, but ejected at too low an altitude and his parachute never fully opened.”
Wang also announced that all AT-3 aircraft have been grounded, and all training sessions and flight missions for the Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team suspended.
Air force officials said safety is the top priority and all operating aircraft at the two air bases on the east coast were taken in for inspection and maintenance checks after Tuesday’s crash, while nighttime training runs have been canceled.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) yesterday recommended that fewer aerial acrobatics performances be scheduled.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we