A dual-seat IDF plane yesterday crashed in a mountainous area in Nantou County yesterday, the air force said, but the two pilots on board ejected and landed safely on the ground.
The pilots, who sustained minor injuries, were rushed to a hospital for treatment and were reported to be in stable condition.
The cause of the crash of plane No. 1617 is not yet known, the air force said. However, mechanical problems are suspected to be the cause.
The crash occurred at 11:49am, 20 minutes after the fighter took off from Taichung's CCK air base on a flight-instrument training mission.
The plane's crew was a flight instructor and a trainee. The flight instructor, Major Wang Chu-hsiang (王祖祥), has over 1,600 flight hours while the trainee, Lieutenant Sung Yueh-tun (宋岳暾) has about 400 flight hours.
One of the pilots told reporters that they ejected after losing control of the aircraft about 2.7km above Puli township.
The plane plunged into a mountainous and wooded area and exploded. A small fire broke out as a result of the explosion, but it was contained.
The pilots landed not far from their downed plane.
It is the second crash of an IDF plane since the locally-built fighters went into service in 1993.
A single-seat version crashed into the sea off Taichung in 1995 after developing engine problems. The pilot survived by ejecting.
However, a prototype of the plane also crashed into the sea off Taichung during a test flight before the IDFs became operational. The pilot in that incident was killed.
The IDF has had the reputation of being the safest of the air force's second-generation fighter planes, including the US-made F-16 and French-produced Mirage 2000-5.
Four F-16s and three Mirage 2000-5s have been lost since these planes entered service.
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