Taiwan air force training jet crashes, killing 23-year-old pilot
- Aircraft crashes in Kaohsiung minutes after take-off in fourth AT-3 failure in 10 years
- Island’s air force will replace the planes, which have been in service for 38 years, with the Yung Yin (Brave Eagle) advanced trainer jet
The locally developed twin-seat AT-3 trainer took off from the air force base in Kangshan, near Kaohsiung and crashed into a paddy field nearby three minutes later, the air force and Kaohsiung City Fire Department said.
It was the fourth AT-3 crash in 10 years, and the 15th since some 60 trainer jets were commissioned by the air force in 1984. Eleven pilots and cadets have been killed during the 15 crashes.
“The Air Force Academy was having a training mission on the morning of May 31, and Lieutenant Hsu Ta-chun was flying solo in the mission. The plane took off from Kangshan at 8.03am and was missing at 8.06am about 5 nautical miles from the base,” air force chief of staff Huang Chih-wei said.
The academy and the military immediately started searching for the plane. The fire department later reported that the plane had crashed in a paddy field in Kangshan, Huang said. He said the pilot’s body was found at the crash site.
Huang said there was no radio report from the pilot of unusual conditions before the crash.
He also said this was the pilot’s second solo flight in the jet and he had been accompanied by a flight instructor for three take-offs and landings before flying alone.
