The Air Force Command Headquarters said yesterday that a newspaper report about a pilot who accidentally damaged equipment onboard an IDF jetfighter was true and that all crewmembers involved in the incident had been punished.
“The pilot, the chief technician and the assistant concerned were given an administrative demerit over the incident. They were also required to pay for repairing the aircraft,” a press release by the headquarters said.
The press release came in response to a report in yesterday’s Chinese-language Apple Daily that described an incident it said occurred on June 20.
The report was based on a tip from a soldier from the Air Force’s Fleet 427, which is based at the Cingcyuangang (清泉崗) Air Force Base in Taichung.
The soldier told the newspaper that an IDF pilot took some personal belongings onboard the jet fighter as he flew his plane from the base to Penghu as part of a regular training course. The equipment ripped off the plane’s detonating cords, which are used to blow off the jet’s hatch if a pilot needs to eject.
When the detonating cords are damaged, the hatch may not be blown clear if the pilot attempts to eject and that could result in the death of the pilot.
After the incident, the Air Force punished the ground technicians responsible for the plane, but not the pilot, the report said. The decision irritated the soldier, who then went to the press.
“The incident did occur, but we punished all the crewmembers concerned, including the pilot, the chief technician and his assistant — not only the technician. Those involved also had to pay for the damage caused to the plane,” said Colonel Hsieh Mao-sung (謝茂淞), spokesman for Cingcyuangang Air Force Base.
Hsieh said that the plane was fixed on the same day the incident happened. The repair work cost approximately NT$20,000 and would be shared by the plane’s crew.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS