Searchers have salvaged the crash survivable memory unit (CSMU) of an F-16 jet that crashed last month in New Taipei City, which could help solve the mystery behind the crash that led to the death of the pilot.
The CSMU was found at about noon on Monday and is to be sent to the US manufacturer for further analysis in the hope of determining the cause of the accident, the air force said in a statement.
The crash occurred on June 4 when an F-16 jet piloted by major Wu Yen-ting (吳彥霆) disappeared from radar screens at 1:43pm, nearly 30 minutes after it took off from Hualien Air Force Base to participate in the annual Han Kuang military exercises.
The military later said it believed the airplane had crashed in mountains north of New Taipei City after a hiker called police at about 3:30pm to report having found possible wreckage from the jet.
Parts of Wu’s body were later found on Wufenshan (五分山) in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳).
Searchers on June 5 found the jet’s flight data recorder, commonly known as the “black box,” but the CSMU, which is normally inside the recorder, was missing.
Based on its initial findings, the air force has attributed the tragedy to “a combination of factors, including poor weather conditions and human error,” but has yet to identify a definitive cause.
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