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PFP legislator casts doubt on military's crash explanation

PFP Legislator Sun Ta-chien (孫大千) yesterday accused the air force of not telling the truth regarding the crash of a T-34C trainer last Thursday

"The air force said it was engine malfunction. Is it true?" Sun said at a press conference at the Legislative Yuan.

Regarding the air force's explanation of plane crashes, Sun said the military would cite human error in cases where the pilot died. However if the pilots survived, the air force would blame mechanical problems and say the pilots had done their best to limit the damage.

According to statistics provided by Sun, the air force lost 36 planes and 20 pilots over the past 10 years.

Of the 20 fatalities, the air force says seven of them are the result of unknown causes or are still being investigated, Sun said. One of the crashes was due to poor weather conditions and the rest were the result of human error.

Of the 16 non-fatal crashes, the air force claimed that five of them were the result of human error and the rest were due to aircraft malfunction.

"These statistics gave us an interesting notion. It seems to me that the pilots' dying or surviving is an important factor for the air force when deciding the reasons for crashes," Sun said.

"Remember what the injured pilot said when he was sent to the hospital last Thursday? Let me remind you. He said the plane was not in good shape. Well, think about it. What does that mean?"

Sun urged the air force to establish an aviation-safety investigative committee to handle plane crashes rather than lying about the real causes of crashes.

"Our pilots sacrificed themselves for our country. Let us treat them fairly and give them the honor they deserve," he said.

In addition, Sun also accused the air force of purchasing Chinese-made parts for Taiwan's AT-3 and T-34 series trainers.

"My secret source from the air force told me that the air force has to do so since their original manufacturers in the US have stopped producing these parts," he said.

The Air Force General Headquarters responded to Sun's remarks in a press release yesterday morning and said that the military has never lied about the crashes or related casualties. In the release, air force officials also denied that they have purchased AT-3 and T-34 parts from China.

The air force has investigated every one of its crashes, regardless of whether the pilot survived, according to the release.

The latest crash of the T-34 last Thursday is still under investigation, and the military says it is unfair to jump to any conclusions.
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