The wreckage of an Army helicopter that crashed into a radio tower in a remote mountain region in Kaohsiung County on Tuesday will be re-assembled to facilitate an investigation into the cause of the crash, military sources said yesterday.
The debris of the crashed UH-1H Iroquois helicopter from the Army's Airborne and Special Operations Command has been recovered and sent back to Kueijen Army Base in Tainan County for re-assembly, the sources said.
The command is scheduled to hold consultation meetings over the next few days to discuss repair of the damaged radio tower, owned by the Police Radio System, and compensation for owners of banana plantations destroyed by the crash, the sources said.
PHOTO: CNA
The crash claimed the lives of all eight Army officers onboard.
Five of the bodies were recovered at the crash site on Tuesday, but rescuers didn't locate the remaining three until Wednesday noon when they were discovered lodged in the girders of the radio tower, which the helicopter had collided with in bad weather.
The helicopter's data flight recorder, or "black box," has also been recovered and turned over to the investigators looking into the causes of the crash.
The crashed helicopter was manufactured in 1974. Under a cooperation deal with US-based Bell Helicopter, the military's Aero-Industry Development Center -- the forerunner of the present-day Aerospace Industry Development Corp -- built a total of 118 UH-1Hs since 1969.
Despite the age of the aircraft, Minister of National Defense Lee Jye (李傑) said after the latest flight disaster that the fleet of UH-1H helicopters is still a reliable part of the country's airborne arsenal.
Lee also suggested that the cause of Tuesday's crash was most likely bad weather rather than the age of the aircraft.
Nevertheless, Lee said that all the remaining UH-1Hs have been grounded for thorough safety checks.
He also said a detailed investigation report about the cause of the crash would be unveiled at a news conference next Tuesday.
The minister said that the family of each officer killed in the helicopter crash will receive compensation of at least NT$15 million (US$453,360).
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS