Tang slams air force for inadequate pilot training

Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (唐飛) yesterday lambasted the air force for poor maintenance of aircraft and inadequate pilot training as the reasons behind the recent crash of a Mirage 2000-5 and a spate of earlier accidents.

Answering legislators' questions on the Mirage crash and Taiwan's high fighter accident rate, the defense minister yesterday blamed the accidents on poor maintenance and insufficiently rigorous training. Tang criticized pilots and technicians for carelessness.

Two coast guard cutters searching for the Mirage 2000-5 jet fighter that crashed off the coast of Hualien on Dec. 14 returned to Keelung Port yesterday due to rough seas, unable to locate any remains of the jet.

The Mirage 2000-5 is the fifth second-generation fighter that has crashed this year in Taiwan.

The defense minister said that many experienced pilots have left the military to work in the private sector, leaving inexperienced fighter pilots on the force. The high accident rate is also related to oversights in fighter pilot training, he said.