A navy helicopter pilot who was struck on the head by a spinning rotor blade earlier this month is in stable condition following brain surgery at a hospital in southern Taiwan, the Naval Fleet Command said yesterday.
The lieutenant commander pilot, surnamed Wei (魏), is conscious and has stable vital signs, the navy said.
Wei underwent brain surgery on Dec. 2 at the Zuoying Branch of the Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, where he was rushed after the incident involving a marine patrol helicopter at a naval base in Greater Kaohsiung.
He has been transferred to a regular ward at the hospital and his life is not in danger, the navy said.
On the day of the incident, Wei was preparing to take off on a training mission in a McDonnell Douglas 500MD/ASW Defender helicopter when a warning signal for an engine problem appeared.
He left the cockpit and went to the back of the helicopter to assist the technical staff, officials said at the time, adding that he apparently got too close to the spinning rotor blades and was struck on his head.
According to the navy’s preliminary findings in its ongoing investigation, Wei did not observe standard operating procedures when he went to assist the technical crew.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS