Taiwan is later this year to take delivery of the first set of new ejection seats for its F-5 jets, which would improve pilots’ chances of survival if they have to eject, the air force said yesterday.
The first shipment of Martin-Baker’s Mk 16 zero/zero ejection capability seats from the US is expected to arrive before the end of the year, air force Chief of Staff Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
He said the full order of 70 seats is scheduled to be delivered by next year, and installation would be completed on all 45 of the air force’s F-5E and F-5F jets by the end of next year.
The F-5E is a single-seat version of the F-5, while the F-5F is a twin-seat model.
The new ejection seats for the F-5 fleet were ordered after military experts said that the current ones should be replaced, as they are outdated.
The recommendation was made during an investigation into the cause of a midair collision between two F-5E jets on March 22, which killed first lieutenant Lo Shang-hua (羅尚樺) and captain Pan Ying-chun (潘穎諄).
Forensic evidence later showed that Lo had died of a brain hemorrhage.
The circumstances of Lo’s death were the same as that of another pilot, captain Chu Kuan-meng (朱冠甍), who was killed in another F-5E crash on Oct. 29 last year.
Experts said that Lo and Chu were likely killed when they ejected and their heads hit the cockpit hatch because of the outdated design of the F-5E’s ejection seat.
Huang said the military is also planning to purchase at least five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters equipped with infrared night vision, to improve aviation safety.
The decision was made after an air force UH-60M chopper crashed in New Taipei’s Wulai District on Jan. 2 last year, killing eight senior military personnel, including chief of the general staff Shen Yi-ming (沈一鳴), he said.
Following an investigation, the air force said the Black Hawk helicopter crash might have been caused by a combination of human error and poor weather conditions.
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