A helicopter that crashed in Hualien County yesterday, killing all three passengers on board, including acclaimed Taiwanese documentary director Chi Po-lin (齊柏林), had been in service for more than 15 years, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.
The Bell 206B-3 helicopter manufactured in 2001, which belonged to Emerald Pacific Airlines, was the oldest of three Bell helicopters operated by the company.
Aviation authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
Emerald Pacific Airlines, founded in 1994 and based in Taichung, is mainly contracted to clean cap and pin insulators on high-voltage transmission lines.
The airline has had four other crashes prior to yesterday’s, mostly involving the same type of aircraft.
On Nov. 29, 1999, a Hiller UH-12 helicopter flying along Kaoping River en route to spray pesticide on banana farms in Pingtung County crashed at the river dam catchment area, killing the pilot.
On Sept. 3, 2001, a Bell 206B-3 helicopter became tangled in power lines and crashed when crew were cleaning cap and pin insulators on high-voltage transmission lines for Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), killing two on board.
On Dec. 18, 2014, a Bell 206B-3 helicopter was used to clean cap and pin insulators for Taipower when it suddenly lost power.
The pilot made an emergency landing and two people on board sustained minor injuries.
On Nov. 22, 2015, a Bell 206B-3 crashed when used for cleaning cap and pin insulators for Taipower, killing two on board.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS