The pilot of a 37-year-old AT-3 training aircraft belonging to the Air Force Academy died yesterday after his aircraft collided with another AT-3 and crashed during a routine training mission of the Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team in Greater Kaohsiung, military officials said.
The pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Chuang Pei-yuan (莊倍源), tried to parachute to safety before the plane crashed in a field in Greater Kaohsiung’s Zihguan District (梓官), but he ejected from the plane at too low an altitude and his parachute never fully opened, the air force said.
Chuang sustained serious injuries after falling to the ground and was rushed to the Gangshan Branch of the Armed Forces Kaohsiung General Hospital, the Ministry of National Defense said.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
Doctors at the hospital tried to revive the 37-year-old, but to no avail, it added.
The crash occurred at about 11:17am yesterday after Chuang’s jet collided with another AT-3 flown by Lieutenant Colonel Yang Chih-ping (楊志平), which was not badly damaged and landed safely at the Air Force Academy in Greater Kaohsiung.
In video clips obtained by the Chinese-langauge Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) and posted on its Web site shortly after noon yesterday, three AT-3s are seen flying in formation at high velocity and trailing white smoke.
Chuang’s AT-3 then accidentally clips another aircraft in a cross-over run. It first climbs higher, but begins to spin out of control and heads toward the ground at an incline.
Another video showed the two AT-3 planes make contact in mid-air, with the leading plane’s tail breaking off, then flying erratically before crashing.
The sounds of nearby bystander witnesses were also recorded, shouting: “There is a collision, the plane is going to crash,” “Oh, no, it’s going out of control” and “Get out quick, jump out with the parachute.”
Both Chuang and Yang are senior pilots who have clocked more than 2,000 flight hours, Air Force Academy superintendent Chang Yan-ting (張延廷) said at a news conference.
The two had been partners for about two years and participated in the formation of seven AT-3 jet trainers flown by the Thunder Tiger Aerobatics Team that streaked over the Presidential Office as part of Double Ten National Day celebrations on Oct. 10 this year, Chang said.
The Air Force Command Headquarters has set up a task force to probe the cause of the crash. There have been 12 crashes involving AT-3 training aircraft since 1990, resulting in the death of seven pilots.
An air force official said that Chuang missed the opportunity to eject from his aircraft at a higher altitude because he was trying to maneuver his aircraft clear of residential communities and crowds.
Chuang would have been able to save his life if he had bailed from the aircraft earlier, the official said, but he did not want to endanger the lives of others.
“This showed the pilot’s great virtue,” the official said.
Following the crash yesterday, legislators asked the Ministry of National Defense about plans to phase out the aging AT-3 aircraft, which have been in service for more than 25 years.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS