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Military to study cause of crash

Minister of National Defense Wu Shih-wen (伍世文) yesterday said his ministry would investigate the cause of Wednesday's Mirage 2000 crash that left one pilot missing, while expressing his condolences to the family of the plane's other pilot who was killed in the incident.

Chief of the General Staff General Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) yesterday presided over a meeting called to review the incident. However, the ministry refused to reveal what was discussed, simply saying that a press conference will be held today where further information regarding the crash will be given.

Wu said the country's 57 Mirage jets would remain grounded until the cause of the latest and third crash of a Mirage is determined.

Fleet inspection

The grounding of the planes, which took effect shortly after the crash, was ordered to allow engineers and technicians time to inspect Taiwan's fleet of the jets.

"The ministry will conduct a thorough investigation into why the Mirages have repeatedly been involved in accidents," added Wu, while paying a visit to the family of Lieutenant Colonel Chang Chien-hsiang (張健翔).

Chang, 37, a wing commander and flight instructor on the doomed training mission, was plucked alive from the sea nearly two hours after the crash but died some three hours later in the hospital.

First Lieutenant Liu Hao-fan (劉浩帆), 25, the second man in the plane before it went down was still listed as missing at press time.

Wu said the military is sparing no effort in its search for Liu.

However, rescuers said unfavorable weather conditions over the past two days have hampered their efforts.

Liu and Chang are said to have ejected from the jet during a routine training mission after problems with the plane's engine developed at 12:40pm Wednesday.

The pair reported the problem to controllers at Hsinchu Air Force Base and said they were going to eject. The twin-seat plane is said to have plunged into the sea some 46km off Hsinchu.

Previous crashes of the French-made jets, all of which are stationed in Hsinchu, occurred during training flights in October and December of 1999.

The first crash, in which both pilots survived, occurred after a bird was sucked into the plane's engine.

Causes still unknown

The cause of the second accident is still unknown, and killed the plane's pilot. It is suspected that the pilot might may have lost consciousness or suffered spatial disorientation.

Both problems can be caused by excessive gravitational forces experienced during extreme maneuvers whereby a pilot can lose consciousness or his bearings and crash his plane.

Taiwan purchased a total of 60 Mirage 2000-5s in 1992 from France despite vociferous protests from the communist regime in Beijing.

Delivered to Taiwan in 1997 and 1998, these intercepter aircraft -- which were manufactured by Marcel Dassault Breguet Aviation -- together with 150 US F-16 fighters, are the backbone of the country's air defense system.

The country's Mirage wing was formally commissioned in May of this year.
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