The bodies of the two missing pilots have been found by a search party inside the wreckage of their AT-3 trainer jet in a mountainous area of central Taiwan. The air force said that an Aviation Safety and Accident Investigation Committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the crash.
Air Force Command Headquarters officials said that crews onboard a CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter saw the fuselage of the twin-engine AT-3 trainer jet at 6:38am yesterday.
The wreckage was found in thick forest on a mountain slope about 2,743m above sea level.
The wreckage was near the 3,785m Mabolasi Mountain (馬博拉斯山), close to the border of Nantou and Hualien counties and about 3km northwest of the aircraft’s last known radar position when it lost contact with air traffic controllers at about midday on Tuesday.
Unable to land in the mountainous terrain, members of army’s special forces rappelled from the helicopter into an area near the crash site at 6:43am yesterday to carry out a ground search.
“They reported finding the bodies of the two pilots in the cockpit of the aircraft’s fuselage at 12:50pm yesterday,” military officials said.
The two pilots, Major Wang Ching-chu (王勁鈞), 32, and First Lieutenant Huang Chun-jung (黃俊榮), 23, were on a training session aboard the AT-3 aircraft when it disappeared off the radar screen at about midday on Tuesday.
They took off from the Air Force Academy in Kaohsiung City’s Gangshan District (岡山) at about 11:55am to perform instrument flying training, but lost contact at about 12:24pm.
The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement saying that Air Force Command Headquarters would be responsible for initiating an aviation safety and accident investigation committee which is to investigate the cause of the crash.
A prosecutor from the Hualien Prosecutors’ Office surveyed the crash site from the air on-board a military helicopter yesterday afternoon to assist in the committee’s investigation.
Defense ministry officials said a military helicopter was dispatched yesterday afternoon to retrieve the pilots’ bodies, but the mission could not be carried out due to a change in weather conditions. They are to make another attempt today, officals said.
The defense ministry has mobilized 1,100 military personnel since Tuesday and 79 aircraft sorties, using CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter, S-70C Seagull helicopter, EC-225 Super Puma helicopter, RF-5E reconnaissance jet and E-2K early warning aircraft for the mission.
Observers aboard search operation aircraft said the fuselage parts were scattered in places, and there seemed to be scorch marks on rocky outcrops, indicating the AT-3 had crashed on the mountain slope.
Air force officials confirmed the two pilots had not ejected from their seats, and were most likely killed on impact during the crash.
“The pilots’ bodies are being guarded for now by the members of the army’s special forces who arrived first on the scene,” Air Force Academy deputy head Huang Chih-wei (黃志偉) said yesterday. “Another troop unit will reach the crash site tomorrow to conduct follow-up work and gather evidence for the investigation.”
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS