The legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday passed a motion asking the Transportation Safety Board to more actively investigate accidents involving military aircraft, after a pilot was killed in the collision of two F-5E jets in southeastern Taiwan on Monday.
Democratic Progressive Party legislators Lin Chun-hsieh (林俊憲) and Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Mong-kai (洪孟楷) raised the question of the board’s role in the investigations of eight incidents involving military aircraft from 2005 to this year.
Three of the accidents occured last year and this year, including the crash of a Blackhawk helicopter in New Taipei City in January last year, killing former chief of the general staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴). and seven other officials.
Photo: Chen Chan-ting, Taipei Times
The Transportation Occurrences Investigation Act (運輸事故調查法) states that the board is only in charge of investigating incidents involving civil aircraft.
However, the board had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of National Defense, pledging to assist in investigations of military aircraft crashes.
With regard to last week’s crash, the military had asked the board to help identify the flight routes of the two fighter jets based on radar system data, as the jets were not equipped with flight recorders, the board said.
However, the military was still in charge of the investigation, and the board would only act upon the military’s request, the board said.
Hung said that the board has more personnel and resources after being upgraded from the former Aviation Safety Council.
The board should be involved in the investigation of all military aircraft incidents, as this would make the investigations more transparent, Hung said.
Lin said that with regard to the investigation of the Blackhawk crash, the board was limited to assist the military in decoding the flight recorder, but was not asked to help investigate the cause of the crash.
This exposes a security loophole that arises from insufficient investigations of military aircraft incidents, Lin said.
Investigation by the military showed that the crash was caused by the area’s unknown topography, weather and human errors, Lin said.
However, military personnel should know the topography ahead of a mission, and military aircraft should be able to operate in all kinds of weather, he said.
The report by the military was not convincing, Lin added.
“The problem is that we let the military investigate its own crashes. When they write an investigative report, they make sure that they themselves get off the hook.” Lin said. “How can the truth be revealed under this circumstance?”
Accidents over the past few years have hurt the morale and the image of the military, he said, adding that the military and the board should establish an independent investigation task force.
Board Chairman Young Hong-tsu (楊宏智) said that the board could not intervene in the investigations of military aircraft crashes unless the Transportation Occurrences Investigation Act is amended.
“We would take on responsibility if the public reaches consensus on the issue, and lawmakers propose an amendment to the act,” Young said.
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